K443 

287S59Efl? 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


SIMON. 


THE  STORY  OF  A  NEGRO  SLAVE  IN   BRAZIL. 


W.  0.  VON  HORN. 


T  RAN  SLAT  ED      RROM     THE     GERMAN. 


ILLUSTRATED. 


ERNST  KAUFMANN, 
NEW  YORK,  CHICAGO, 

22  &  24  N.  WILLIAM  ST.  107   MADISON  ST. 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE. 


The  story  which  I  am  about  to  relate,  is  based  upon 
fact.  The  noble  deed  of  the  negro,  which  is  recounted 
in  the  course  of  the  story,  attracted  attention  toward 
him  to  an  extraordinary  degree,  and  among  all  classes, 
from  the  emperor  down  to  the  beggar.  He  then  told 
his  story,  which  was  fully  published  by  a  Rio  de  Janeiro 
newspaper.  Under  peculiar  circumstances  this  paper 
came  to  my  notice,  it  is  true,  fully  three  years  after 
publication,  for  it  is  dated  1853.  I  have  followed  this 
reliable  account  and  believe  that  I  am  doing  my  readers 
a  service  in  narrating  this  story. 


CHAPTER  I. 

The  coasts  of  the  continent  of  Africa,  whose  in- 
terior is  almost  entirely  unknown  to  us,  which  are 
washed  by  the  waves  of  the  Atlantic  ocean,  ever  since 
the  terrible  traffic  with  human  beings  began,  have  been 
its  inexhaustible  source.  All  the  seafearing  nations  of 
Europe  have  a  share  in  the  blame,  and  have  assisted  in 
the  commission  of  a  crime,  in  which  they  saw  nothing 
culpable,  for  they  denied  to  the  unfortunate  black  man 
both  human  dignity  and  human  rights.  They  considered 
him  an  article  of  trade,  out  of  which  commerce  might 
derive  a  legitimate  profit,  as  out  of  any  other  wares. 
It  can  hardly  be  told  to  what  extremes  of  brutality  and 
cruelty  men  permitted  themselves  to  go  in  this  nefari- 
ous business. 

Only  late,  very  late,  Europeans  came  to  a  recogni- 
tion of  their  duty,  and  the  Englishmen,  who  themselves 
had  engaged  in  slave  trade  for  a  long  time,  began  to  set 
its  bounds.  Their  men  of  war  cruised  in  African 
waters  on  the  lookout  for  slave  ships,  and  unrelenting 
punishment  was  inflicted  upon  every  one  captured.  But 
in  spite  of  the  careful  watch  of  the  British  cruisers,  the 
cruel  traffic  with  human  beings  was  not  stopped. 

In  the  face  of  great  danger,  the  enormous  profit  at 
that  time  connected  with  the  business,  led  American 
ships,  especially  South  American  and  Brazilian  vesselss 
to  risk  the  attempt,  to  bring  their  "ebony,"  as  they 
called  the  stolen  negroes,  through  the  lines  in  safety. 
There  the  truth  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  was  again  illus- 
trated, that  "the  love  of  money  is  the  root  of  all  evil." 
The  watch  along  the  immense  coastline  could  not 


be  kept  so  strictly,  but  that  small  and  swiftsailing  ves- 
sels, which  there  carried  on  the  slave  trade,  could  suc- 
ceed in  escaping  the  watchfulness  of  the  English 
cruisers. 

The  slave  markets  of  North  and  South  America, 
and  particularly  of  Cuba,  showed  how  often  this  was  the 
case.  How  the  animosity  of  the  negro  tribes,  one 
against  the  other,  aided  slave  traders,  will  be  shown  in 
the  course  of  this  true  and  vivid  narrative. 

The  particular  part  of  the  African  coast  where  the 
horrible  traffic  with  human  beings  was  carried  on,  offers 
a  great  many  hiding  places,  and  when  these  were  once 
reached,  the  accursed  business  could  be  carried  on  in 
safety. 

It  was  near  the  mouth  of  a  small  stream,  which 
poured  its  waters  into  the  mighty  ocean  (so  the  negro 
Simon  relates),  that  a  Brazilian  slave  ship,  well-known 
to  the  negro  chiefs,  was  accustomed  to  carry  on  its 
business  for  many  years. 

This  place  could  not  have  been  better  chosen,  for 
the  coast  regions  were  thickly  populated.  The  natives 
were  engaged  in  a  ceaseless  war  of  extermination 
among  themselves,  and  sold  their  prisoners,  whom  their 
fore-fathers  had  been  accustomed  to  kill,  for  what  ap- 
peared to  be  a  great  profit  in  their  eyes.  But  the  loca- 
tion was  most  favorable  in  other  respects  also.  In  front 
of  the  mouth  of  the  little  coast  stream,  there  lay  quite 
a  large,  long,  and  thickly  wooded  island.  Mango  trees 
with  dense,  intertwining  branches  lined  the  shore  and 
afforded  an  excellent  protection  not  only  against  the 
fury  of  the  storms,  but  also  from  the  eyes  of  those  men, 
who  perhaps  were  sailing  past  out  on  the  ocean. 

The  island,  seen  from  the  ocean,  presented  the 
appearance  of  an  unbroken,  wooded  coastline,  and  un- 
less the  place  had  been  examined  with  the  care,  slyness, 
and  daring  of  the  slavers,  there  would  not  even  have 


been  discovered  the  deep  channels  at  the  upper  and 
lower  ends  of  the  island,  which  afforded  an  entrance 
into  the  extensive  bay  lying  between  the  island  and  the 
mainland.  Thus,  far  and  near,  there  was  not  to  be  found 
a  more  safe  and  secluded  spot  than  this  one,  where  the 
Santa  Margarita,  a  ship  from  Santa  Catharina  in  Bra- 
zil, for  many  years  had  carried  on  the  slave  trade  with 
the  greatest  success,  without  having  been  even  once 
molested  by  one  of  the  English  cruisers.  It  is  true, 
the  captain  and  owner  of  the  vessel,  Don  Manuel  Cor- 
dela  was  his  name,  did  not  conceal  from  himself  the 
fact,  that  the  business  Vas  getting  more  difficult,  and 
that  the  enlarged  number  of  English  men-of-war  was 
increasing  the  danger.  But  the  immense  profit  -from 
the  business  was  too  tempting.  Wretched,  glittering 
baubles,  poorly  made  fire  arms,  hatchets  and  axes,  kegs 
of  brandy,  and  gaudy  cotton  cloth,  were  exchanged  for 
strong  negroes,  whose  price  in  ringing  gold,  was  high 
and  continually  increasing  in  the  Brazilian  slave  mar- 
kets. And  so,  trusting  to  his  old  luck,  he  daired  again 
and  again,  to  seek  out  his  well-known  hiding  place, 
where  his  wealth  had  found  its  beginning  and  food  for 
steady  increase. 

One  day  the  Santa  Margarita,  under  a  light  sea 
breeze,  again  gracefully  wound  her  way  through  the 
channel  at  the  time  of  high  tide,  and  cast  her  anchor  in 
the  bay,  where  she  had  so  often  lain  in  safety.  The 
vessel  was  in  excellent  condition  and  was  a  swift  sailer. 

The  slave  trader,  who  knows  the  great  dangers 
connected  with  his  infamous  business,  observes  every 
precaution,  he  is  well  versed  in  all  tricks  and  games,  in 
short  he  is  a  master  of  deception.  A  conscience  which 
will  permit  a  man  to  deal  as  carelessly  with  the  life  and 
liberty  of  a  fellow  being,  as  if  he  were  no  more  than  a 
bale  of  merchandise,  will  not  shrink  from  any  trick 
or  foul  practice,  no  matter  how  vile  it  may  be,  or  how 


6 

much  it  may  he  despised  by  a  good  Christian.  When 
a  man,  led  on  by  his  insatiable  greed,  has  once  sunk  so 
low,  he  easily  silences  his  conscience.  These  are  the 
terrible  phenomena  of  human  depravity,  which  we  meet 
with  in  this  business.  They  fill  our  souls  with  horror 
and  strongly  remind  us  of  the  words  of  the  poet : 

"Vice  is  a  monster  of  so  frightful  mien, 
As,  to  be  hated,  needs  but  to  be  seen. 
Yet  seen  too  oft,  familiar  with  her  face, 
We  first  endure,  then  pity,  then  embrace." 

Captain  Cordela  was  a  genuine,  wily  slave  trader, 
who  had  carried  on  his  business  for  a  great  many  years 
and  shrank  from  no  vile  trick.  He  was  experienced  in 
all  branches  of  the  trade,  as  he  used  to  say.  He  bound 
his  crew  to  himself  by  the  payment  of  high  wages,  and 
had  with  him  only  tried  and  trusted  men.  One  new  hand 
was  an  exception,  but  he  gave  himself  no  concern  about 
him,  and  moreover,  this  man  had  proven  himself  a 
veritable  treasure  on  this  trip,  by  his  extraordinary  sea- 
manship. 

The  ship  was  safely  brought  into  the  bay  by  its 
pilot,  and  proudly  she  lay  at  anchor.  This  work  which 
is  usually  accompanied  by  a  great  deal  of  noise  at  the 
docks  and  in  harbors,  was  performed  most  quietly. 
Only  the  water  fowl,  which  covered  the  calm  surface 
of  the  bay  in  great  flocks,  attracted  by  the  fish  which 
swarmed  in  its  waters,  and  the  crocodiles  which  were 
very  numerous,  were  frightened  out  of  their  rest.  The 
latter,  with  dreadful  snapping  of  their  jaws,  rushed  into 
the  depths,  but  their  curiosity  soon  brought  them  to 
the  surface  again,  where  their  heads  became  visible. 
The  sailors  would  gladly  have  put  a  load  of  shot  into 
them,  but  precaution  demanded  that  every  sign  of  the 
presence  of  the  vessel  should  be  most  carefully  avoided. 

In  the  little  bay  silence  reigned  supreme,  broken 


only  by  the  chatter  of  quarreling  monkeys,  the  screams 
of  the  swarms  of  parrots  and  cockatoos,  which  flew 
from  the  island  to  the  main  land  and  back  again,  the 
cawing  of  the  water  fowl,  and  now  and  then  by  the 
deep,  terrible  roar  of  some  beast  of  prey. 

Human  dwellings  were  nowhere  visible.  Every- 
where along  the  edge  of  the  water,  there  appeared  the 
dense  tangle  of  the  mango  trees,  but  above  them  the 
crowns  of  mighty  baobabs  and  bananas,  the  tops  of 
palms  and  bamboos  of  enormous  growth,  became 
visible.  v 

There  was  plenty  of  excellent  water  in  the  little 
coast  stream,  and  a  superfluity  of  delicious  fruits,  while 
game  abounded,  and  a  stay  in  this  place  would  have 
been  most  desirable  had  not  other  conditions  made  it 
dangerous.  In  the  waters  appeared  the  insatiable  cro- 
codile, and  even  the  greedy  shark  did  not  despise  com- 
ing into  the  bay  with  its  abundance  of  fish,  to  satisfy 
his  hunger.  Venomous  snakes  crept  through  the  high 
grass,  and  when  evening  came,  poisonous  mists  rose 
from  the  forests  and  swamps,  which  drove  men  into 
the  close  body  of  the  vessel,  if  they  would  not  breathe 
them  and  expose  themselves  to  the  danger  of  deadly 
fevers. 

This  time  also  evening  fell  soon  after  the  vessel 
had  entered  the  bay.  Captain  Cordela's  orders  hasten- 
ed the  work  of  the  crew,  and  when  at  length  the  hot 
African  sun  sank  to  rest,  and  like  a  delicate  veil  the 
mists  began  to  rise,  the  black  body  of  the  vessel  lay 
upon  the  quiet  surface  of  the  bay  as  if  there  were  no 
life  in  her.  But  all  who  were  aboard,  whether  still  at 
work,  or  resting  in  their  hammocks  after  the  weary  toil 
of  the  day,  had  the  feeling  of  perfect  security. 

But  without  there  began  the  shrieking,  roaring, 
and  grunting  of  creatures,  as  one  hears  it  in  southern 
climes.  The  water  fowl  with  hoarse  cries  sought  their 


8 

roosting  place.  The  parrots  and  cockatoos  quarreled 
among  themselves  with  earsplitting  shrieks,  for  the 
choice  places ;  horrible  bats  of  an  enormous  size,  flew 
about  in  search  of  prey ;  owls  gave  forth  their  melan- 
choly hoot ;  numberless  monkeys  raved,  and  screamed, 
and  chased  each  other  through  the  trees ;  all  around  the 
snarl  and  bark  of  jackals  and  hyenas  was  heard,  and 
above  all  there  rose  the  terrifying  roar  of  the  monarchs 
of  the  forests,  of  the  mighty  African  lion  and  the  hungry 
tiger,  so  that  one  chill  after  another  ran  over  the  men 
in  their  wooden  house  upon  the  water,  even  though 
they  knew  themselves  to  be  secure  from  all  that,  which 
out  there  threatened  bloody  destruction. 

The  battle  of  the  creatures  of  the  wild,  this  weird 
concert  of  so  many  disagreeable  voices,  at  last  also 
ceased,  and  then  there  was  only  heard  the  roar  of  the 
breakers  upon  the  reef,  which  stretched  along  the 
island  on  the  ocean  side,  and  the  sighing  of  the  wind 
as  it  passed  through  the  brushes  of  the  lofty  palms. 

With  the  dawn  of  the  day  the  same  noise  began 
anew,  only  much  greater,  even  though  the  mighty 
voices  of  the  wild  beasts  of  prey  were  silent,  as  they 
sought  the  deeper  shadows  of  the  jungle  and  the  thick- 
ets, to  rest  after  their  nocturnal  excursions.  The  water 
fowl  left  their  sleeping  places  with  loud  screaming,  and 
sought  the  open  sea.  Swarms  of  land  birds  flew  about 
in  search  of  food,  and  the  crocodiles  disported  them- 
selves in  the  waters  of  the  bay,  whose  wealth  of  fish 
afforded  them  plentiful  nourishment. 

And  now  signs  of  life  began  to  show  themselves 
aboard  the  ship  also.  The  voice  of  the  captain  was 
heard  issuing  commands,  and  the  crew  appeared  busily 
engaged.  Several  men,  armed  to  the  teeth,  entered  a 
rowboat,  which  brought  them  to  the  shore  of  the  main- 
land, where  they  soon  disappeared  in  the  deep  shadow 
of  the  forest.  These  were  the  messengers  of  the  cap- 


9 

tain  to  his  friendly  chiefs,  trusted  men  and  bold,  who 
were  well  acquainted  with  the  country  from  former  ex- 
peditions, and  shrank  from  no  threatening  danger. 

After  the  boat  had  returned  to  the  vessel,  the  ac- 
tivity of  the  men  became  livelier.  The  jolly  boat  was 
lowered  into  the  water  and  empty  casks  were  placed  in 
it.  Then  they  steered  towards  the  stream,  and  there, 
where  the  influence  of  the  salt  water  was  no  longer  felt, 
they  filled  them  with  fresh  water.  Others  landed  on 
the  green  shore  of  the  island.  They  cleared  away  the 
underbrush  and  leveled  off  quite  a  large  space.  Then 
they  erected  their  tent&  in  order  to  enjoy  the  cool  in 
the  shade  of  the  lofty  trees.  The  actions  of  two  classes 
of  animals  were  very  interesting,  while  this  was  going 
on.  The  crocodiles  stared  at  the  working  men  with  a 
stupid  look,  so  that  it  seemed  as  if  they  were  more  eager 
to  devour  them,  than  to  watch  their  work.  But  the 
monkeys  spryly  clambered  up  into  the  highest  tree- 
tops  and  then  bent  far  forward  in  order  to  watch  the 
men  with  most  peculiar  grimaces,  while  the  feathered 
denizens  of  the  forest  flew  away  into  the  impenetrable 
depths  of  the  woods,  where  innumerable  vines  inter- 
twining, seemed  to  bind  all  into  one  green  mass.  The 
captain  then  came  ashore  and  reclined  under  the  tent, 
while  the  cook,  having  quickly  built  a  stove  out  of 
stones  and  sod,  busied  himself  about  preparing  a  meal 
for  the  hungry  laborers.  Those  of  the  crew,  who  were 
known  to  be  good  marksman,  were  sent  away  to  shoot 
antelopes,  of  which  there  were  a  great  number  in  that 
section,  as  well  as  numerous  swiftfooted  gazelles.  And 
so  the  crew  completed  their  temporary  camp,  which 
was  to  be  the  place  of  rest  and  refreshment  for  all,  and 
the  captain  impatiently  awaited  the  return  of  the  mes- 
sengers he  had  sent  out,  who  were  to  bring  him  the 
anxiously  expected  news  of  the  slave  purchase. 

Several  days  passed  by  in  quiet,  until  one  afternoon 


10 

human  figures  appeared  upon  the  shore  of  the  main- 
land, where  the  messengers  of  the  captain  had  penetrat- 
ed into  the  thick  of  the  forest.  A  shot  gave  the  signal. 
A  boat  quickly  put  off  and  soon  brought  over  the  cap- 
tain's messengers  and  two  negroes,  who  were  sent  by 
the  chief  of  the  tribe  to  make  the  bargain. 

The  captain  greeted  the  negroes  like  old  acquaint- 
ances, and  yet  with  a  certain  degree  of  formality.  Then 
they  were  entertained,  rum  playing  the  most  important 
roll.  They  greedily  partook  of  it. 

After  breakfast  the  captain  ordered  those  articles 
to  be  brought  out  of  the  vessel's  hold,  which  he  desired 
to  exchange  for  slaves.  The  eyes  of  the  negroes  glit- 
tered as  they  longingly  surveyed  these  treasures.  And 
yet  most  of  it  was  worthless  trash.  Then  there  came 
some  small  mirrors,  imitation  coral  strings,  bracelets 
made  of  shining,  but  worthless  metal,  in  which  false 
and  utterly  worthless  stones  were  sparkling,  ear  rings 
and  other  valueless  ornaments. 

Further  articles  of  trade  were  hatchets,  axes,  guns, 
powder,  lead,  copper  pans  and  kettles,  and  a  great  num- 
ber of  articles  of  necessity  and  of  dress,  as  used  by  the 
negroes,  all  of  them  of  small  value  in  themselves,  but 
appearing  most  attractive  to  the  negroes.  With  special 
satisfaction  the  representatives  of  the  chief  regarded 
the  numerous  little  casks  of  whose  contents  they  had 
just  enjoyed  a  sample.  The  list  of  these  articles  here 
given,  will  suffice  to  give  an  idea  of  the  immense  profits 
derived  from  the  slave  trade.  Under  the  most  unfair 
conditions  the  negro  slaves  were  purchased  and  sold 
again  in  the  slavemarkets  for  an  enormous  price. 

The  captain  had  sharply  observed  his  guests,  in 
order  to  learn  what  impression  his  wares  had  made 
upon  them,  and  came  to  the  conclusion,  that  they  were 
highly  satisfied.  And  now  he  dealt  presents  out  to  them 


11 

with  a  liberal  hand,  by  which  they  were  made  unspeak- 
ably happy. 

Then  the  pipes  were  brought  and  rum,  and  the 
trading  began.  The  negroes  were  somewhat  familiar 
with  the  Portuguese  language. 

The  captain  said :  "You  have  seen  my  goods,  what 
have  you  to  offer?" 

"Eboes,  as  many  you  want,  and  can  accomodate : 
men,  youths,  women,  girls,  and  children.  They  are  a 
fine  tribe,  these  Eboes,"  they  continued,  "strong,  tall, 
active,  and  easily  controlled.  You  will  do  a  fine  business 
with  them." 

"I  will  come  and  see,"  answered  the  captain,  "but 
I  reserve  to  myself  the  privilege  of  selection.  They 
must  be  perfect.  No  man  can  be  over  thirty  years,  and 
no  female  have  passed  the  twentieth  year." 

The  agents  grinned  so  that  their  white  teeth  gleam- 
ed from  behind  their  thick  lips,  and  nodded  their  wooly 
heads. 

"You  will  be  satisfied,"  they  said,  "and  you  know 
that  we  never  bring  an  article  discreditable  to  us.  We 
know  our  stock  well.  But  what  do  you  offer  a  piece, 
according  to  age  and  condition?" 

The  captain  mused  as  if,  on  account  of  the  high 
value  of  his  wares,  he  had  to  carefully  consider.  Then 
he  fixed  the  purchase  price  with  such  a  firm  and  de- 
termined voice,  that  the  very  tone  and  accent  showed 
plainly,  that  further  bartering  would  be  useless.  But 
the  negroes  seemed  to  be  entirely  satisfied,  and  merely 
raised  the  question  how  they  were  to  convey  to  their 
lord  and  master  some  idea  of  the  captain's  wares.  This 
was  the  somewhat  veiled  demand  for  presents  for  their 
chief. 

The  captain  was  well  acquainted  with  their  cus- 
toms, and  led  them  into  the  second  tent  where  his  gifts 
were  spread  out  in  the  most  attractive  manner.  Even 


though  these  consisted  of  the  same  kind  of  things, 
which  he  had  already  given  to  the  agents,  yet  the  cap- 
tain, well  calculating  his  interest,  had  selected  the  most 
glittering  objects. 

"You  will  do  yourself  honor,"  said  the  negroes. 
"Our  chief  will  recognize  his  old  business  friend,  who 
lias  a  rich  and  liberal  hand." 

"I  expect  so,"  the  captain  briefly  replied.  "When 
will  the  cargo  be  ready?"  he  then  asked. 

The  negroes  said :  "One  week  from  to-day  the 
Eboes  will  celebrate  a  great  festival  of  sacrifice.  Be- 
cause we  have  been  quiet,  they  do  not  anticipate  an  at- 
tack from  us,  whom  they  have  done  much  injury.  But 
when  they  are  weary  from  dancing,  and  drunk  with 
palm  wine,  and  sink  down  tired  and  senseless,  then  we 
shall  fall  upon  them,  and  they  shall  feel  our  revenge. 
The  place  of  sacrifice  is  two  days  march  from  here." 

The  captain  heard  them  with  satisfaction  and  once 
more  called  their  attention  to  the  fact  that  he  was  able 
to  accomodate  one  hundred  slaves,  and  then  dismissed 
them.  The  boat  brought  them  to  the  landing  place. 
Once  more  they  turned  and  waved  their  handkerchiefs, 
and  then  entered  the  forest  and  disappeared  from  view. 
In  the  meantime  the  ship  had  to  replenish  its  store  of 
meat,  the  water  casks  had  to  be  refilled,  and  there  was 
plenty  of  work  to  be  done.  Thus  the  week  rapidly  pas- 
sed, which  the  negroes  had  mentioned  till  the  time  of 
the  festival  of  the  Eboes. 

The  captain  knew  this  tribe.  They  lived  near  the 
source  of  the  stream,  which  emptied  into  the  bay  in 
which  the  vessel  lay  at  anchor.  They  were  a  fine, 
strong  race  of  men.  They  could  well  be  called  more 
tractable  than  other  negro  tribes,  whose  members, 
when  in  captivity,  would  sometimes  starve  themselves 
to  death,  or  in  wild  raving  leap  into  the  sea,  or  would 
end  their  lives  in  some  other  manner.  After  his  last 


13 


trip  he  had  sold  some  of  these  Eboes  at  Pernambuco 
for  a  large  sum.  And  so.  he  was  well  pleased  and  looked 
forward  with  satisfaction  to  the  time  when  his  mer- 
chandise should  arrive,  showing  how  his  accursed  bus- 
iness had  smothered  all  human  feeling,  and  emptied  his 
heart  of  every  trace  of  mercy. 


CHAPTER    II. 

V 

Far  into  the  interior  from  where  the  slave  ship  lay 
at  anchor,  the  dense  forest  stretched  away,  lianes  and 
other  vines  intertwining  between  the  trees,  until  it  be- 
came almost  impenetrable.  Amid  gigantic  trees  like 
the  baobab,  banana,  every  specie  of  palm,  fig,  and  other 
trees  bearing  edible,  refreshing  fruits,  were  found  the 
mimosa  and  bamboo  of  enormous  growth.  The  eye 
was  attracted  as  much  by  the  beauty  of  the  flowers  and 
fruits,  as  by  the  gorgeously  colored  plumage  of  the 
birds,  which  were  seen  swinging  among  the  branches, 
while  numberless  squirrels  and  monkeys  ran  about 
everywhere. 

The  Eboes,  a  tribe  of  negroes,  inhabited  these 
forests.  Partly  they  dwelt  in  kraals,  and  partly  in 
isolated  huts,  scattered  here  and  there.  Their  huts 
were  very  simple  structures  of  bamboo  staves,  and 
covered  with  the  large  leaves  of  the  plantain.  Nature's 
rich  store  provided  them  abundantly  with  the  fruits  of 
many  trees,  bananas,  figs  and  cocoanuts.  The  fruit  of 
the  plantain  and  the  cabbage  palm  also  supplied  their 
wants.  Besides  they  were  passionately  fond  of  the 
chase,  and  game  was  plentiful.  For  these  reasons  they 
engaged  in  agriculture  to  a  very  limited  extent,  raising 
only  a  little  rice  and  cotton.  Frequent  wars  with  a 
restless  neighboring  tribe,  had  much  reduced  their 


14 

number.  A  treaty  of  peace,  which  they  had  made, 
seemed  temporarily  to  have  put  an  end  to  this  un- 
fortunate strife,  and  the  Eboes  were  living  in  perfect 
security.  But  it  was  a  most  deceptive  peace,  and  they 
had  no  suspicion,  that  this  people  which  they  had  over- 
come in  battle,  harbored  an  implacable  hatred  in  their 
hearts,  and  were  plotting  treachery  to  work  their  des- 
truction. 

Not  very  far  from  the  source  of  the  stream,  whose 
short  course  came  to  an  end  in  the  bay  where  the  slave 
ship  was  anchored,  there  lay  a  lonely  hut  under  the 
widespreading  branches  of  a  mighty  baobab  tree.  Like 
all  the  huts  of  the  Eboe  negroes,  it  was  built  of  bamboo 
staves  closely  bound  together,  and  covered  with  plan- 
tain leaves.  The  whole  appearance  of  the  hut  indicated 
that  it  was  to  serve  rather  as  a  secure  sleeping  place 
than  as  a  residence.  Where  the  hand  of  the  Almighty 
has  formed  the  arching  roof  of  leaves  in  the  dense  tropi- 
cal forest,  man  stands  in  no  need  of  any  special  cover- 
ing. Besides,  the  heat  would  prove  insufferable  in  a 
small  inclosure.  Only  the  poisonous  vapors  of  the 
night,  and  the  wild  beasts,  which  prowl  about  in  search 
of  prey,  make  it  necessary  to  retire  to  a  place  of  safety 
when  darkness  falls.  The  floor  of  the  hut  was  thickly 
covered  with  matting.  Beside  the  hut,  under  a  simple 
continuation  of  the  roof,  there  was  found  a  rude  stove, 
built  of  stones,  on  which  the  meals  were  prepared,  and 
the  only  kitchen  utensil,  a  copper  pan,  hung  on  a  peg 
in  the  side  of  the  hut.  Towards  the  stream  one  saw 
the  little  rice  field,  and  somewhat  farther  back,  lay  the 
modest  cotton  plantation,  while  a  number  of  coffee 
trees  had  been  planted  a  little  to  the  side.  Everywhere 
else  the  trees  of  the  primeval  forest  thickly  grew, 
nevertheless  affording  a  rich  supply  of  healthy  nourish- 
ing food. 

On  the  one  side  of  the  hut  the  ground  rose  to  a 


little  height.  A  short,  rich  sod  covered  it,  and  on  the 
gentle  slope  a  young  negro  woman  was  seated,  braiding 
a  mat  from  the  fibres  of  the  palm  tree.  At  her  side 
played  a  little  woolly-headed  boy,  upon  whom  the  eyes 
of  the  mother  rested  with  an  expression  of  deepest  ai- 
fection.  He  might  have  been  about  eight  or  nine  years 
old.  The  little  fellow  was  amusing  himself  with  a  cocoa- 
nut,  whose  outer  covering  had  been  removed,  and 
which  he  rolled  down  the  incline.  While  these  two 
were  thus  engaged,  the  one  in  work,  the  other  in  play, 
unnoticed  by  either  of  them,  a  negro  emerged  from  the 
thick  forest,  and  with  a"  soft  and  stealthy  step  drew 
near.  In  his  hand  he  held  a  number  of  short  spears, 
called  assagais,  and  over  his  shoulders  he  carried  an 
antelope,  which  he  had  killed  in  the  hunt. 

For  a  long  time  he  stood  and  gazed  upon  his  wife 
and  child,  his  deep  love,  his  joy,  and  pride  depicted 
upon  his  countenance,  when  suddenly  the  boy  uttered 
a  piercing  scream  and  fled  towards  the  hut. 

In  an  instant  the  antelope  was  thrown  upon  the 
grass,  and  with  one  bound  the  negro  stood  beside  his 
wife,  swinging  an  assagai  in  his  right  hand.  The  poor 
woman  was  so  affrighted  by  the  unexpected  cry  of  the 
boy,  that  she  could  hardly  raise  herself  from  her  crouch- 
ing posture. 

"What  is  it?"  cried  the  negro;  but  at  the  same 
moment  he  discovered  the  object,  which  had  so  much 
frightened  the  child. 

One  of  the  most  venomous  serpents  had  crawled 
up  unobserved.  Hissing  it  had  raised  itself  to  strike  at 
the  young  woman,  since  the  child,  who  may  have  ir- 
ritated it  in  some  way,  had  escaped.  A  cold  shudder 
passed  over  the  negro,  who  knew  the  full  extent  of  the 
awful  peril,  but  with  a  swift  movement  his  assagai 
whistled  through  the  air,  and  with  full  force  struck  the 
serpent  in  the  head,  so  that  in  its  pain  it  whirled  itself 


16 

around  in  wild  but  impotent  rage.  A  second  blow 
severed  the  dangerous  head,  which  the  negro  im- 
mediately proceeded  to  crush  with  a  stone.  Then  he 
turned  to  his  wife,  who  stretched  out  her  arms  towards 
him  in  grateful  thanks.  The  boy  also  now  came  run- 
ning along,  and  the  little  group  stood  embracing  each 
other. 

After  a  while  the  young  woman  recovered  from 
her  fright,  and  then  the  negro  brought  the  antelope, 
which  he  had  killed.  With  deft  fingers  he  took  off  the 
skin  and  drew  the  creature. 

Soon  a  fire  was  burning  beside  the  hut,  over  which 
the  young  woman  broiled  some  of  the  juicy  meat. 
While  enjoying  the  meal  the  negro  said:  "Golima,  we 
now  have  a  double  reason  to  go  to  our  people's  festival 
of  sacrifice,  which  is  to  be  held  at  Zurate  on  the  mor- 
row, for  have  we  not  visibly  enjoyed  the  protection  of 
the  gods?" 

She  nodded  assent,  and  the  boy  clapped  his  hands 
for  glee. 

"But  we  shall  return  home  before  night,  shall  we 
not,  Cullock?"  she  asked  in  a  pleading  tone. 

"Why?"    he  asked  in  astonishment. 

"I  have  a  heavy  feeling  in  my  heart,"  replied  Go- 
lima, "as  if  some  great  misfortune  were  to  come  upon 
us!" 

"Did  not  my  arm  protect  you  to-day,  and  did  not 
the  gods  support  me?"  he  asked.  Then  he  tried  in 
every  way  to  allay  her  fears,  and  she  finally  set  about 
preparing  the  provisions  for  the  morrow,  besides  filling 
a  large  gourd  with  palm  wine,  even  though  she  heaved 
many  a  sigh  over  her  work. 

Then  the  door  of  the  hut  closed  behind  them,  since 
the  mists  of  evening  already  began  to  rise,  and  the  ter- 
rible roars  of  the  creatures  of  the  forest  proclaimed  the 
falling  of  the  night. 


17 

Zurate  was  an  Eboe  village  of  considerable  size. 
The  forest  stretched  away  in  its  neighborhood,  and  here 
a  very  large  circular  space  had  been  cleared,  where  the 
festivals  in  honor  of  the  idols  were  wont  to  be  held. 

From  early  morning  the  swarthy  natives  were  seen 
streaming  toward  Zurate.  They  were  of  all  ages,  and 
came  sometimes  in  large  crowds,  and  sometimes  in 
single  family  groups. 

When  the  gathering  had  increased  to  a  great  mul- 
titude, the  priests  appeared  bearing  the  fetishes  and 
images.  They  were  surrounded  by  a  shouting,  howling 
crowd,  while  the  din  was  increased  by  the  horrible 
sound  of  the  tam-tams  and  shrill  whistles.  The  mul- 
titude joined  the  procession,  and  as  soon  as  the  clear- 
ing was  reached,  the  religious  ceremonies  began.  They 
were  soon  over,  and  yet  they  lasted  too  long  for  many 
who  were  only  eager  for  the  wild  dances,  which  now 
began.  Palm  wine  drunk  to  excess,  and  the  madness 
of  the  dance  peculiar  to  the  negro,  which  brought  them 
almost  beside  themselves,  produced  a  weird  and  wild 
scene.  This  insane  indulgence  in  pleasure  continued 
without  intermission,  until  the  stars  began  to  shine  out 
in  the  sombre  heavens.  Only  then  small  groups  were 
seen  seeking  a  secure  resting  place  in  the  forest,  while 
a  few  individuals  reeled  towards  Zurate  in  search  of 
a  sleeping  place.  But  it  was  midnight  before  silence 
reigned  in  the  forest,  in  the  negro  village,  and  the  clear- 
ing. All  around  the  negroes  were  lying  in  a  deathlike 
sleep. 

When  the  position  of  the  stars  indicated  the  hour 
of  midnight,  Golima  reminded  her  husband  gently  that 
it  was  time  to  seek  a  distant  hut  in  the  village,  where 
a  friend  lived. 

The  boy  had  long  ago  fallen  asleep,  and  Cullock 
carried  him.  They  started  on  their  way  because  Go- 
lima could  not  overcome  the  feeling  that  the  festival 


grounds  were  to  be  the  seme  of  some  great  disaster. 

Upon  the  grass  which  had  been  trampled  down  in 
the  mad  dance,  lay  the  unconscious  negroes,  and  not 
one  had  a  suspicion  that  beings  like  themselves,  yet 
worse  than  lions  and  tigers,  were  creeping  up,  with  a 
diabolical  thirst  for  vengeance  in  their  hearts,  in  order 
to  bring  upon  them  the  highest  measure  of  wretched- 
nes  and  woe,  after  the  brief  pleasure  and  intoxication, 
which  they  had  enjoyed. 

For  two  days  the  negro  tribe,  with  whose  agents 
the  slave  dealer  Cordela  had  made  a  contract,  had  been 
active.  A  mystery  hung  over  their  proceedings,  and 
only  the  leaders  of  the  tribe  knew  the  destination  of 
the  expedition  in  preparation,  and  its  object.  It  was 
known  that  the  purpose  was  to  carry  off  slaves,  because 
they  took  with  them  many  ropes  made  of  the  fibre  of 
the  palm  tree,  ropes  which  could  not  be  torn  by  the 
strongest  hand.  Besides  these  ropes  they  carried  only 
clubs  made  of  ebony,  whose  purpose  was  well  under- 
stood. All  who  were  no  longer  fit  to  be  sold  as  slaves, 
as  well  as  the  children  who  were  not  yet  strong  enough, 
were  to  be  beaten  to  death.  The  utter  annihilation  oi 
an  unfriendly  people  or  tribe  is  the  object  of  the  blood- 
thirsty enmity  of  the  negro,  and  when  he  begins  his 
murderous  work,  his  bloodthirstiness  is  simply  awful. 
He  spares  neither  the  babe  upon  the  breast  of  the 
mother,  nor  the  aged  man  already  standing  upon  the 
brink  of  the  grave. 

For  a  great  many  years  a  deeprooted  animosity 
had  existed  between  the  Zulahs  and  the  Eboes.  Bloody 
battles  had  taken  place,  in  which  sometimes  the  Zulahs, 
sometimes  the  Eboes,  had  come  forth  victorious.  Now 
the  arrival  of  the  slave  dealer  afforded  an  opportunity 
to  take  advantage  of  the  festival  at  Zurate,  and  deal  a 
blow  from  which  the  Eboes  would  never  recover.  The 
condition  of  utter  exhaustion  and  drunkeness,  which 


19 

ever  succeeded  these  negro  celebrations,  was  to  be  used 
in  order  to  attain  the  desired  end,  which  was  no  other 
than  this,  to  sell  into  slavery  the  younger  generation, 
and  to  murder  all  the  rest.  This  truly  devilish  plan, 
which  could  only  have  originated  in  the  soul  of  a  savage, 
was  now  nearing  its  accomplishment,  and  when  at 
length  the  secret  was  declared,  and  the  Zulahs  learned 
that  their  expedition  was  directed  against  the  Eboes, 
a  wild  and  terrible  joy  filled  their  hearts. 

They  set  out  on  their  expedition  so  quietly  as  to 
keep  their  undertaking  va  profound  secret.  Just  as  the 
treacherous  tiger  circles  round  the  hapless  gazelle  un- 
til he  finds  the  favorable  opportunity  and  place,  and 
then  suddenly  pounces  upon  the  wretched  victim  with 
terrible  ferocity,  so  they  drew  nigh  the  Eboe  village, 
and  the  place  of  the  festivities,  only  travelling  by  night, 
when  no  eye  could  distinguish  the  dark  bodies,  which 
were  creeping  up  to  the  enemy,  winding  their  way " 
among  the  thickest  brush  as  noiselessly  as  beasts  of 
the  forest,  and  as  supple  and  smooth  as  eels. 

As  long  as  the  far  sounding  beat  of  the  tam-tams, 
and  the  shrill  tone  of  the  pipes  was  heard,  and  the 
shouts  of  the  dancers  echoed  through  the  forest,  they 
lay  silent  in  the  high  grass.  They  formed  a  great  circle, 
which  completely  closed  about  the  Eboes  on  all  sides. 
No  other  precaution  was  necessary,  for  they  rightly 
calculated  that  the  Eboes  not  suspecting  an  attack, 
would  carelessly  give  themselves  over  to  the  enjoyment 
of  their  festival. 

Golima  and  Cullock  silently  walked  along  towards 
the  hut.  where  they  intended  to  spend  the  night.  Cul- 
lock was  incapable  of  taking  note  of  anything,  for  his 
excessive  indulgence  in  the  dance  and  in  palm  wine, 
was  beginning  to  show  its  effect  with  irresistible 
power. 

Now  Golima  saw  the  hut  where  they  expected  to 


20 

find  their  friends,  but  although  the  door  was  on  the 
side  from  which  they  were  approaching,  she  could  dis- 
cover no  welcoming  light.  Suddenly  she  stood  still. 
Her  heart  heat  quickly,  for  it  seemed  to  her  as  if  she 
had  observed  a  suspicious  movement  in  the  high  grass. 
Indeed  it  seemed,  now  that  she  looked  more  sharply, 
as  if  she  could  see  heads  lifting  themselves  and  then 
swiftly  disappearing  again. 

"Away!  Away!"  cried  Cullock.  "Why  do  you 
stand  there?  I  can  go  no  further.  The  sleeping  boy  is 
growing  too  heavy  for  me." 

"Hold !"  she  cried  in  a  low  tone.  "We  must  flee ! 
They  are  lying  in  ambush  for  us !" 

Scarcely  had  she  uttered  the  word,  when  a  rope 
was  thrown  over  her,  by  which  she  was  hurled  to  the 
ground.  At  the  same  instant  Cullock  sank  down  with 
a  stifled  groan.  A  blow  from  a  club  had  felled  him.  But 
a  few  moments  passed,  and  they  were  bound  securely 
hand  and  foot.  Strong  arms  lifted  them  and  threw  them 
into  the  hut,  whose  inhabitants  had  already  been  treat- 
ed in  the  same  manner.  And  now  they  heard  the  terrible 
battle  cry  of  the  Zulahs  lifted  on  every  side.  It  seemed 
to  move  toward  the  village  and  the  scene  of  the  festival. 
A  guard  was  left  at  the  door  to  see  that  none  of  the 
captives  escaped. 

But  this  battle  cry  had  only  been  sounded,  when 
the  Eboes,  who  began  to  be  aroused  from  their  stupor, 
had  offered  resistance.  At  first  the  Zulahs  had  stealth- 
ily crept  up,  and  almost  without  the  stupified  sleepers 
noticing  it,  bound  the  feet  of  the  younger  ones.  This 
had  been  done  with  almost  all  of  those  whom  they 
found  lying  around  in  the  open.  Those  who  awoke, 
were  felled  with  a  blow  from  the  club,  as  had  been  done 
with  Cullock,  and  when  they  fell  unconscious,  their 
hands  were  cruelly  pressed  together  and  tied  with 
strong  ropes.  But  this  did  not  succeed  with  all,  some 


21 

they  left  lying,  only  having  bound  their  feet,  and  when 
these  awoke  they  untied  the  ropes  and  gave  the  alarm 
in  the  forest  and  the  village.  All  aged  persons  were  at 
once  murdered  by  the  Zulahs.  A  fight  arose  in  the  vil- 
lage, but  in  view  of  the  condition  of  the  Eboes,  the  out- 
come did  not  long  remain  doubtful.  Before  the  morning 
broke,  there  remained  alive  only  the  young  and  strong, 
both  among  the  women  and  the  men,  as  many  as  would 
be  useful  as  slaves.  Children  between  the  ages  of  nine 
and  twelve  were  allowed  to  live,  and  were  driven  to- 
gether in  one  place  like^a  herd  of  sheep.  All  who  were 
younger  were  murdered  without  mercy. 

When  at  last  day  came,  the  village  and  the  scene 
of  the  festivities,  which  only  a  few  hours  before  had  re- 
sounded with  the  shouts  and  laughter  of  the  merry- 
makers, presented  a  spectacle,  which  must  have  filled 
every  heart  except  that  of  a  Zulah,  with  horror  and  af- 
fright. Te  unmerciful  victors  drove  teir  shackled  vic- 
tims over  the  scene  of  their  murder  and  cruelty,  and 
while  their  hearts  were  being  rent  with  grief  and  an- 
guish, the  Zulahs  danced  about  them  singing  gleefully 
their  wild  songs  of  victory. 

The  eye  of  the  Christian  turns  in  horror  from  such 
a  scene,  where  the  savage  first  commits  his  atrocities 
and  then  glories  in  the  gratification  of  his  inhuman  re- 
venge. But  the  Christian  also  looks  upward  to  where 
the  God  of  love  and  mercy  dwells,  and  from  the  inner- 
most depths  of  his  soul  he  prays :  "O  Lord,  let  the  light 
of  Thy  holy  Gospel  penetrate  into  this  fearful  night,  to 
drive  away  its  shadows,  that  there  may  cease  these 
horrors,  which  dishonor  man  and  are  a  mockery  of  all 
the  tender  feelings,  which  Thou  hast  implanted  in  his 
bosom !" 


22 


CHAPTER    III. 

The  night  with  its  more  than  horrible  occurences, 
was  now  past.     It  had  been  a  night  in  which  man  had 
proven    himself    worse    than    the    most    bloodthirsty 
beast  of  prey,  which  prowled  through  the  forests.    De- 
liberately and  with  infinite  cruelty,  the  happiness  and 
liberty  of  individuals  had  been  destroyed,  and  a  glimpse 
had  been  afforded  into   the  deep   moral   depravity  of 
ihese  creatures,  who  also  belonged  to  the  human  race. 
The  Zulah  negroes  were  jubilant  over  their  pro- 
fitable, even  though  horrible  victory,  by  which  the  tribe 
of  the   Eboes    had    been   annihilated,  while  their  own 
glory  would  be  famed  far  and  near.     They  drove  the 
herd  of  their  victims  toward  the  coast.    The  bonds  had 
been  removed  from  their  feet,  but  had  been  drawn  all 
the  tighter  around  the  hands  and  arms.    Their  strength, 
their  rage,  their  hope  had  been  broken  in  the  frantic 
but  fruitless  efforts  to  break  their  fetters.     Their  feet 
covered  with  burning  wounds,  they  trudged  along  in 
the  submissiveness  of  despair.  Now  and  then  one  would 
sink  down  exhausted,  but  at  once  the  shambock,  the 
terrible   whip    of   rhinoceros   hide,   was   laid   upon   the 
naked  body,  until  gathering  their  remaining  strength, 
they  raised  themselves  and  again  followed.   Women  and 
girls    groaned    in    pain,    but    they    were    mocked    and 
abused.    The  stronger  ones  had  to  carry  the  children, 
who  had  been  permitted  to  live,  and  were  trembling  in 
mortal  fear.     Whenever  it   happened  that   one   of  the 
luckless  captives  broke  down  utterly,  a  blow  upon  the 
head  with  the  heavy   ebony  club  ended  his  sufferings 
forever.    The  body  was  left  to  be  devoured  by  greedy 
vultures,  which  followed  the  troop  in  large  numbers, 


23 

or  together  with  the  jackals  held  their  disgusting  feast 
upon  the  scene  of  massacre. 

We  now  turn  again  to  Cullock,  Golima  and  their 
child. 

Golima  had  been  violently  thrown  to  the  ground 
by  the  noose  which  almost  strangled  her.  Then  she  was 
quickly  bound  hand  and  foot.  She  saw  at  once  that 
resistance  would  be  foolish  in  the  face  of  the  over- 
whelming number  of  their  grim  enemies,  and  so  she 
patiently  submitted  to  the  hard  lot,  whose  full  signifi- 
cance she  well  understood.  But  with  a  look  of  unspeak- 
able anguish  she  turned  her  face  toward  Cullock  and 
her  child.  The  child  was  unharmed.  When  the  father 
had  been  bound,  it  threw  itself  upon  the  breast  of  its 
mother.  Here  a  Zulah  seized  it  by  the  hair  and  dragged 
it  forth,  but  when  he  had  apparently  satisfied  himself 
by  the  faint  glimmer  of  the  stars,  that  the  strong  and 
healthy  boy  would  prove  profitable  ware,  he  again 
threw  him  back  upon  the  matting,  and  crying  bitterly 
the  little  fellow  crept  over  to  his  mother,  where 
trembling  in  every  limb,  he  sought  to  hide  himself. 

When  Cullock  recovered  his  senses,  he  furiously 
wrenched  his  fetters  in  a  vain  effort  to  tear  them  off. 
The  blows  of  the  Zulah  guard  only  enraged  him  the 
more.  Blood  flowed  freely  from  his  hands  and  feet,  but 
he  did  not  appear  to  feel  the  pain.  With  kind  entreaty 
Golima  besought  him  to  control  himself,  and  to  submit 
to  the  inevitable,  but  it  took  a  long  time  for  him  to  get 
the  mastery  over  his  natural  wildness  of  temper,  in  fact 
this  mastery  was  rather  the  result  of  complete  exhaus- 
tion. Then  he  sank  into  that  deep  brooding  which  is 
peculiar  to  the  nature  of  the  negro,  and  which  appears 
to  make  him  insensible  to  everything  about  him. 

As  soon  as  the  day  broke,  word  came  from  Zurate, 
and  the  captives  were  led  to  the  crowd  of  other  prison- 
ers, to  begin  with  them  the  march  to  the  sea.  Besides 


Golima,  Cullock,  and  the  boy,,  the  young  couple  who 
owned  the  hut,  had  been  taken  there. 

Captain  Cordela  was  impatiently  awaiting  his  pro- 
mised slaves.  The  ship  had  been  fully  provisioned  and 
was  ready  to  sail.  His  lookouts,  who  had  been  station- 
ed outside  of  the  harbor,  had  reported  that  they -had 
seen  English  cruisers  sailing  northward.  A  small  boat 
ventured  out  upon  the  sea, — nowhere  was  a  trace  of  the 
vessels  any  longer  to  be  seen.  The  time  for  getting 
away  was  therefore,  most  opportune,  especially  since  a 
strong  breeze  promised  swift  sailing. 

Room  had  been  prepared  in  the  hold  for  from  sixty 
to  eighty  slaves.  The  place  intended  for  their  reception 
was  close,  and  precaution  made  it  necessary  to  keep  the 
negroes  under  closed  hatches,  so  that  the  vessel  would 
not  betray  its  true  character  of  slave  ship,  for  which  the 
English  cruisers  were  on  the  lookout.  Still  the  prison- 
ers did  not  arrive.  Captain  Cordela  grew  more  and 
more  impatient,  for  the  longer  he  had  to  wait  the  more 
his  profits  were  being  reduced.  It  is  the  curse  of  a 
guilty  conscience  that  it  can  not  find  rest.  Now  it  is 
bold  and  again  deeply  discouraged.  A  thousand  times  in 
the  space  of  an  hour  his  greedy  and  often  angrily  flash- 
ing eyes  were  turned  toward  the  place,  where  the  ne- 
groes must  emerge  from  the  forest.  At  last  he  gave  a 
bhout  for  joy.  They  had  arrived! 

Quickly  the  boats  were  lowered  and  a  large  num- 
ber of  iron  shakles  brought  out  of  the  hold.  The  cap- 
tain's curses  thundered  through  the  ship,  because  every- 
thing seemed  to  go  too  slowly  for  him.  He  trembled 
in  his  eagerness  to  look  over  the  rows  of  captives,  and 
select  those  whom  he  wished  to  take  along. 

At  last  the  boats  were  ready,  and  he  was  the  last 
man  to  enter  one  of  them. 

A  great  number  of  Zulahs  had  come  together. 
Many  of  the 'slaves  had  sunk  down  and  lay  upon  the 


25 

ground  staring  vacantly  into  space.  They  saw  before 
them  the  grave  of  their  happiness,  they  felt  that  they 
were  standing  upon  the  threshold  of  a  misery,  which 
reaches  the  highest  measure  of  terrible  experience,  that 
can  possibly  come  to  man.  Their  hands  and  feet  were 
swollen  and  sore,  and  the  wounds  inflicted  by  the 
shambock  bled  and  burned  in  strong  inflamation. 

Completely  worn  out  and  exhausted,  the  un- 
fortunate victims  of  the  vengeance  and  cupidity  of  their 
enemies,  lay  there,  only  half  alive ;  but  when  the  whites 
came  near  in  their  boats,  the  lashes  of  their  tormentors 
drove  the  poor  wretches  to  their  feet  again. 

With  an  experienced  eye  the  captain  glanced  over 
these  "black  wares,"  as  unfeeling  slave  dealers  expres- 
sed themselves.  In  spite  of  their  wretched  condition, 
he  perceived  that  these  were  strong,  fine  men  and  wo- 
men. Yet  he  sternly  wrinkled  his  brow. 

"They  have  been  almost  driven  to  death,"  he  sharp- 
ly addressed  the  leader  of  the  Zulahs.  "The  wares  are 
not  worth  half  the  price  we  had  agreed  upon !" 

The  Zulahs  made  long  faces. 

"They  will  quickly  recover,"  said  the  leader.  "The 
white  man  will  not  deal  unfairly  with  us." 

"Do  you  suppose  I  am  going  to  pay  as  much  for 
these  corpses  as  for  good,  healthy  wares?"  cried  the 
captain  with  flashing  eyes;  and  the  disappointed  Zulahs 
began  to  be  afraid. 

Cordela  was  a  shrewd  man.  He  saw  more  than  a 
hundred  slaves.  The  lower  the  price  paid  for  the  in- 
dividual, the  larger  the  number  he  could  buy,  and  this 
was  all  he  was  thinking  about.  What  did  he  care  if  a 
number  of  them  died  during  the  voyage?  He  would 
have  some  to  spare ! — 

With  an  air  of  utter  dissatisfaction  he  passed 
through  the  rows  of  blacks.  He  selected  carefully, 
examining  the  frame  and  proportions  of  each  one.  He 


26 

glanced  over  the  crowd  of  children,  who  huddled  to- 
gether in  fright. 

Then  he  offered  a  much  lower  price  than  the  one 
originally  agreed  upon.  The  Zulahs  fearing  to  lose  all, 
felt  compelled  to  agree,  and  the  captain  began  to  make 
his  choice.  You  could  read  his  cupidity  in  his  glance. 
His  greedy  thought  was  to  profit  as  much  as  pos- 
sible, and  having  calculated  his  gain  by  the  reduction 
of  the  price,  he  picked  out  one  hundred  slaves.  The 
sailors  put  handcuffs  upon  them,  and  so  deeply  were 
the  unfortunates  overcome  with  despair,  that  they  al- 
lowed anything  to  be  done  with  them.  They  were 
placed  in  the  boats  and  brought  aboard,  where  they 
were  put  into  the  hot,  insufferably  close  pen. 

The  boats  returned  for  a  new  load.  As  the  boats 
were  putting  off,  three  negroes  sprang  into  the  water. 
The  dreadful  snapping  of  the  jaws  of  the  waiting  cro- 
codiles, the  swift  disappearance  of  the  poor  wretches 
beneath  the  foaming  surface,  and  the  bloody  tint  of  the 
water,  left  no  doubt  as  to  the  terrible  death  they  had 
suffered.  And  yet  they  had  preferred  this  end  to  a  life 

of  slavery. 

As  horrible  as  these  occurences  were,  and  as 
deeply  as  they  must  have  aroused  the  feelings  of  any 
Christian,  these  persons,  who  were  busy  here,  scarcely 
gave  them  a  moment's  attention.  The  captain  did  not 
lose  anything  by  it.  The  loss  of  the  three  slaves  had  to 
be  made  good  by  the  Zulahs.  Cordela  selected  three 
others,— and  the  matter  was  ended.  How  many  milreis 
(Brazilian  money)  he  could  gain,  that  was  all  he  was 
concerned  about.  For  him  and  his  sailors  these  un- 
fortunate blacks  were  so  much  merchandise,  not  human 
beings.  On  deck  of  the  ship  the  helmsman  and  one  of 
the  Zulahs  once  more  counted  the  heads  of  the  slaves, 
and  then,  old  and  young,  the  whole  hundred  oi  them 
were  crowded  into  the  pen  originally  intended  to  hold 


27 

only  sixty,  a  veritable  hell,  which  not  even  one  breath 
of  fresh  air  was  permitted  to  cool. 

When  at  length  all  whom  the  captain  had  selected 
were  on  board,  the  boats  brought  the  captain  and  the 
Zulah  agents  to  the  tents  on  the  island.  There  the 
articles  of  exchange  were  delivered  to  the  chiefs,  who 
where  then  brought  ashore  where  their  comrades  were 
awaiting  them,  guarding  the  slaves  who  had  been  left 
over. 

Scarcely  had  the  boats  left  the  shore  on  their  re- 
turn to  the  ship,  when  a  terrible  shrieking  and  wailing 
was  heard.  But  it  soorl  ceased,  and  then  the  Zulahs 
were  seen  carrying  a  number  of  corpses  to  the  shore 
and  casting  them  into  the  sea,  where  greedy  sharks  and 
crocodiles  quickly  devoured  them.  The  Zulahs  had 
simply  killed  the  rest  of  the  Eboes,  whom  the  captain 
had  left,  in  order  not  to  be  troubled  with  them  upon 
their  homeward  journey. 

Among  the  sailors  of  Captain  Cordela  there  was 
only  one,  who  was  taking  the  trip  with  a  slave  ship 
for  the  first  time.  His  name  was  Antonio  and  he  came 
from  Santa  Catharina.  He  had  lost  his  parents  in  early 
youth,  and  so  it  happened  that  when  he  had  grown  up 
he  became  a  sailor.  Up  to  this  time  however,  he  had 
only  sailed  on  coastwise  vessels,  from  one  seaport  to 
another.  The  life  of  a  sailor  is  not  calculated  to  parti- 
cularly develop  the  nobler  and  better  feelings  in  the 
heart  of  man.  It  is  a  rough,  and  usually  immoral, 
coarse  class  of  men,  these  sailors,  whom  only  the  stern 
discipline  on  board  can  keep  in  bounds.  What  young 
Antonio  here  saw  and  heard  did  not  have  a  tendency 
to  keep  degenerating  influences  from  him,  even  though 
he  had  a  naturally  good  heart.  And  yet  the  grace  of 
God  had  kept  watch  over  him.  Though  outwardly 
rough,  he  had  preserved  a  goodnatured  disposition,  and 
in  his  large  heart  there  dwelt  a  sincere  sympathy  with 


28 

poor  unfortunates,  and  moreover,  he  was  peculiarly 
open  to  good  influences.  He  had  lain  sick  in  a  hospital 
in  Santa  Catharina  for  a  long  time,  and  thus  happened 
to  be  out  of  a  situation.  His  strength  came  back  slowly, 
and  thus,  unable  to  work  and  earn  money,  he  fell  into 
suffering  and  want.  Antonio  however,  was  reputed  to 
be  an  excellent  sailor,  and  many  a  captain  regretted 
that  he  could  not  make  use  of  him  on  account  of  his 
weakened  condition. 

When  at  last  his  strength  had  returned,  he  found  no 
chance  to  enter  employment.  In  these  straitened  cir- 
cumstances he  was  found  by  Captain  Cordela,  who  knew 
him  well  and  knew  also  what  a  useful  hand  he  was. 

When  he  told  him  that  he  was  about  to  sail  to  the 
coast  of  Africa  with  his  ship,  to  get  slaves,  Antonio  did 
not  wish  to  go  at  first.  But  the  captain  who  knew  his 
poverty,  offered  him  such  exceptionally  high  wages,  be- 
cause he  needed  just  one  good  man  to  complete  his 
crew,  that  he  finally  consented. 

He  entered  his  service  most  unwillingly,  as  he  had 
heard  much  about  the  cruelty  practiced  in  the  business. 
But  the  captain  denied  all  this  positively,  and  so  Anto- 
nio went  aboard  the  vessel,  which  immediately  put 
to  sea. 

Upon  the  voyage  across  Antonio  had  proven  him- 
self to  be  an  excellent  sailor.  In  several  dangerous  situa- 
tions he  showed  himself  as  a  most  coolheaded,  and 
clearsighted  person,  so  that  he  soon  became  the  de- 
clared favorite  of  the  captain.  On  the  other  hand  his 
peaceable,  willing,  and  friendly  manner,  won  for  him  the 
regard  of  the  whole  crew,  a  thing  of  rare  occurence. 

Even  though  a  sailor,  who  has  long  followed  the 
business,  meets  with  much  which  will  dull  his  tender 
feelings,  yet  what  Antonio  saw  here,  surpassed  all  he 
had  deemed  it  possible  for  man  to  do.  One  cold  shudder 
after  another  passed  over  him,  and  he  cursed  the  hour 


29 

in  which  he  had  entered  the  service  of  this  monster,  as 
the  captain  now  appeared  to  him.  Of  course,  he  was 
careful  not  to  say  anything  about  his  feelings,  for  this 
would  have  brought  him  nothing  good.  But  in  his 
heart  the  feeling  of  loathing  and  disgust  increased  dur- 
ing the  bargaining  for  the  slaves,  and  their  placing 
aboard  the  vessel.  When  he  thought  of  the  pen  where 
these  blacks  were  to  be  kept,  it  stirred  his  soul,  and  he 
swore  to  relieve  their  condition  as  much  as  lay  in  his 
power. 

While  he  was  standing  on  the  shore,  a  witness  to 
all  those  scenes  which  mocked  human  feeling,  and  wait- 
ing for  his  boathload,  he  sorrowfully  looked  over  the 
crowd  of  unfortunates,  and  his  eye  fell  upon  a  family, 
whose  members  had  to  be  numbered  with  the  finest 
among  all  the  crowd. 

It  was  Cullock,  Golima,  and  their  child.  They  were 
leaning  one  upon  the  other,  and  the  boy,  who  had  not 
been  bound,  lay  weeping  upon  the  bosom  of  his  dis- 
consolate mother.  Cullock  stared  at  the  ground  at  his 
feet,  his  breast  filled  with  nameless  sorrow. 

What  moved  Antonio,  was  the  unspeakably  deep, 
yet  silent  anguish  of  the  woman,  and  the  wild,  despair- 
ing sorrow  of  the  man. 

Captain  Cordela  had  selected  them,  and  also  the 
boy..  Antonio  approached  them.  He  looked  upon 
them  kindly,  and  without  anyone  noticing  it,  he  offered 
them  his  flask,  and  bade  them  drink.  Both  glanced  up 
at  him,  the  woman  with  tears  in  her  eyes,  the  man  with 
a  dark  look.  Antonio  pointed  to  his  heart,  and  both 
then  drank.  To  the  boy  he  offered  a  few  dates,  and 
with  a  cry  of  delight,  the  little  fellow  seized  them,  and 
eagerly  devoured  them.  Then  he  eased  their  shackles, 
and  stroked  the  boy  with  an  expression  of  kindness 
beaming  from  his  eyes.  When  Antonio  brought  them 
to  the  boat,  the  helmsman  pushed  back  the  boy.  The 


mother  gave  forth  a  cry  of  agony,  while  Cullock  hurled 
himself  upon  the  helmsman  with  a  fury,,  as  if  he  would 
tear  him  to  pieces. 

"Keep  back,  you  beast!"  cried  the  helmsman,  and 
lifted  the  oar  to  deal  a  mighty  blow. 

Antonio  held  his  arm. 

The  captain  saw  it  and  came  running. 

''What's  up  here?"    he  cried  with  angry  tone. 

"The  helmsman  refused  to  take  aboard  the  boy, 
whom  you  had  selected,  he  is  the  child  of  this  negro 
and  naturally  it  made  him  uneasy." 

%'He  shall  be  taken  aboard!"  the  captain  curtly 
commanded.  Antonio  thereupon  lifted  the  child  into 
the  boat,  and  Cullock  and  Golima  followed  willingly, 
while  a  grateful  glance  fell  upon  Antonio. 

He  also  seated  himself  in  the  boat. 

"Just  wait,  you  beast !"  snarled  the  furious  helms- 
man. "I'll  remember  you/' 

"Juan,"  said  Antonio,  who  was  sitting  near  him, 
"put  yourself  in  his  place.  You  too  have  a  wife  and 
child.  How  would  you  have  felt?" 

This  simple,  but  sincere  word,  brought  into  the 
soul  of  the  sailor  memories,  which  did  not  fail  of  their 
effect. 

"You  are  right,  Antonio,"  he  said  after  a  brief 
silence.  "Such  a  black,  I  suppose,  is  somewhat  human 
after  all;  and  if  he  is  not  as  men  say,  why,  even  the 
beast  loves  its  young.  I'll  not  bear  him  any  grudge." 

"That  should  be  the  least,"  cried  Antonio.  "It 
seems  to  me,  that  you  ought  to  say :  "I  will  be  gentle 
with  these  poor  slaves  who  are  human  beings  as  well 
as  we." 

"Oho!  who  says  that?"  asked  Juan.  "Do  you 
want  to  get  into  trouble  with  the  good  father  Xaverus 
of  Santa  Catharina?  Take  care!  He  says,  that  the 
blacks  were  created  for  slavery,  and  that  the  only  thing 


31 

human  about  them  is  their  appearance.  And  that  is 
what  I  also  believe." 

"Let  us  not  quarrel,"  rejoined  Antonio.  "But  my 
confessor,  Father  Ulrico,  whom  you  also  know,  tries 
to  convert  the  negroes.  If  they  were  not  human,  it 
seems  to  me  that  he  would  not  do  this." 

Juan  crew  serious.  This  was  an  argument  which 
went  home. 

"Well — yes — of — course — there  seems  to  be  a  little 
something  of  the  human  being  about  them ;  but  then — " 

"This  ought  to  move  us  to  be  kind  and  gentle  with 
them,"  said  Antonio. 

"For  all  I  care,  very  well,"  replied  Juan.  "I  take 
no  pleasure  in  tormenting  them." 

"Do  you  know,  Juan/'  said  Antonio  after  a  little 
thought,  "just  that  couple  with  the  child  has  aroused 
my  special  sympathy.  Won't  you  place  them  near  the 
hatch?  Then  we  can  give  them  a  breath  of  fresh  air 
occasionally,  or  pass  them  in  a  bit  of  food.  Won't 
you  please?" 

"All  right,"  was  the  answer.  Just  then  the  boat 
came  longside  of  the  vessel. 

Antonio  took  the  boy  and  climbed  aboard  with 
him.  The  parents  followed  willingly,  and  Antonio's 
wish  with  respect  to  their  place  in  the  pen  was  fulfilled. 

But  when  the  negroes  saw  the  narrow  place  of 
their  confinement,  already  overfilled,  despair  seized  upon 
their  souls.  Five  of  them  sprang  overboard  into  the 
sea,  where  the  crocodiles  were  waiting  for  them.  Again 
the  dreadful  snapping  of  their  jaws  was  heard ;  again 
the  bodies  quickly  disappeared  beneath  the  surface,  and 
the  foaming  water  became  discolored,  first  yellow,  then 
red,  and  the  last  trace  of  the  poor  wretches  was  lost. 
A  shudder  passed  over  even  the  roughest  among  the 
crew. 

The  captain  who  was  coming  over  in  the  last  boat. 


32 

cursed  and  raved  at  the  carelessness  of  the  crew,  but 
that  did  not  change  the  matter  any.  He  had  to  stand 
the  loss  of  these  five,  because  they  had  been  paid  for. 

Out  of  the  pen  issued  cries  pitiful  to  hear.  The 
captain  ordered  the  hatches  to  be  closed  down.  Then  the 
anchors  were  drawn  up  and  within  an  hour  the  vessel 
was  coursing  through  the  waves  of  the  sea.  Night  came 
just  as  they  passed  the  reefs  of  the  shore.  A  fresh 
breeze  blew  from  landward.  The  captain  commanded 
to  set  all  sail,  and  when  the  ship  shot  through  the  foam- 
ing waves  swift  as  an  arrow,  he  descended  to  his  cabin 
in  the  best  of  spirits,  and  sought  his  rest.  The  sufferings 
of  the  blacks  did  not  trouble  him. — He  had  made  a  fine 
trade,  and  that  gave  him  pleasure.  Even  though  half 
his  load  died  on  the  voyage,  the  business  would  still  be 
profitable.  And  what  did  he  care  if  some  wretchedly 
perished  ?  They  were  his  property ! 

As  soon  as  he  went  below  Antonio  and  Juan  raised 
the  hatches  to  let  a  little  air  into  the  pen,  where  the  heat 
was  stifling,  and  the  smell  dreadful.  They  also  passed 
a  little  water  and  food  to  their  protegees.  Then  Antonio 
rolled  himself  in  his  blanket,  and  lay  down  upon  the 
deck.  He  went  to  sleep  with  the  consciousness  of 
having  acted  the  part  of  a  man  and  a  Christian. 

Juan  had  the  watch,  and  stood  near  the  mizzen 
mast.  He  was  to  close  the  hatches  about  midnight,  when 
the  captain  might  come  on  deck.  This  was  done,  and 
their  good  deed  was  not  observed. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

The  stiff  breeze  continued  all  night.  The  sailor 
calls  a  strong,  steady  wind,  a  "stiff  breeze."  The  ship 
made  more  knots  an  hour  than  any  of  the  sailors  had 
ever  seen  made  before.  But  it  leaned  far  over  under 
the  burden  and  pressure  of  the  sails. 

The  captain  did  not  appear  upon  deck  until  after 
midnight.  Antonio  had  then  relieved  Juan.  Down  in 
the  hold  all  had  grown  quiet.  Sleep,  the  comforter  of 
the  wretched,  had  fallen  upon  the  eyes  of  the  un- 
fortunates, and  where  the  pain  in  the  inflamed  hands 
and  feet  kept  sleep  away,  there  had  come  the  dull 
lethargy,  which  succeeds  the  recognition  of  an  in- 
evitable fate,  or — death. 

The  captain  strode  the  deck  in  the  most  cheerful 
mood.  He  rubbed  his  hands  in  great  satisfaction.  He 
approached  Antonio. 

"The  cruisers  have  sailed  toward  the  north,  Anto- 
nio," said  he,  as  he  familiarly  slapped  his  favorite  sailor 
upon  the  shoulder.  "We  have  an  open  sea,  and  if  we 
keep  this  excellent  breeze,  in  twenty-four  hours  we 
shall  be  safely  out  of  their  jaws." 

"I  hope  so,"  replied  Antonio,  as  he  wrapped  his 
blanket  closer  about  him,  for  the  approaching  day 
brought  with  it  an  uncomfortable  chilliness. 

"Are  you  cold?"  the  captain  asked  laughing. 
"Shame  upon  you  for  a  sea-dog,  to  be  so  tender!" 

"It  is  less  the  chill  morning  air  that  makes  me 
shudder,  than  the  thought  of  those  negroes,  who  are 
suffering  agony  down  there  in  the  stifling  heat.  How 
would  it  be,  sir,  if  we  opened  the  hatches  a  little  ?  None 
of  them  can  get  out.  It  seems  to  me  that  it  would  be 
to  your  advantage.  The  smaller  the  number  of  those 
who  perish,  the  greater  will  be  your  profit!" 

Simon.  3 


34 

"You  have  good  common  sense,  Antonio,  and  I 
am  pleased  that  you  consider  my  interest  and  do  not 
allow  yourself  to  be  moved  by  the  foolish  sympathies 
of  a  land  lubber.  Do  so !" 

Quick  as  a  flash  Antonio  sprang  to  the  hatches  of 
the  deck,  and  lifted  them.  The  cool  night  air  streamed 
into  the  pen,  where  the  negroes  lay ;  but  a  steam  issued 
forth,  like  the  fumes  from  a  chimney. 

Happy  over  the  success  of  his  scheme,  he  hastened 
back  to  the  captain. 

"If  you  want  to  be  smothered,  sir,  then  go  to  the 
hatches  and  breathe  the  fumes  streaming  out  of  the 
hold,"  he  cried  with  a  forced  laugh. 

"Pshaw!"  said  the  captain,  "to-morrow  morning  I 
suppose  we  will  have  to  give  the  sharks  a  breakfast.  I 
know  how  that  is  from  experience.  But — ,  what's  the 
difference?  We  shall  have  enough  left." 

Antonio  shuddered. 

"Would  it  not  be  wiser,"  said  he,  "if  you  will  allow 
me  the  remark,  to  consider  more  carefully  the  pre- 
servation of  your  slaves?" 

"Any  other  man  but  you,  would  get  a  taste  of  the 
cat-o'-nine-tails,"  laughed  the  captain.  "You  are  a  good 
fellow,  and  I  am  in  fine  spirits.  You  are  right.  What 
would  you  suggest?" 

"Fresh  air,  sir,  for  that  every  living  thing  needs  in 
order  to  sustain  life,  water  and  food — " 

"Perhaps  at  the  cabin  table,"  sneered  the  captain. 

"Not  that,  but  enough,"  said  Antonio,  "and — 

"And  horse  hair  mattresses,"  the  captain  mocked. 

"Nor  that/'  said  the  sailor,  deeply  moved,  and  held 
his  peace. 

"Why  are  you  silent,  you  softhearted  fool,  you  old 
woman?  Why  do  you  stop  with  your:  'And'?" 

"You  are  angry  on  account  of  my  boldness,  sir," 
said  Antonio;  "and  I  have  no  desire  to  make  the  ac- 


35 

quaintance  of  your  cat-o'-nine-tails.     The  day  breaks, 
sir,  what  flag  is  to  be  hoisted?" 

"You  are  sly,  Antonio,"  laughed  the  captain,  "but 
you  are  mistaken;  I  am  not  angry  with  you  and  wish 
to  know  what  was  to  follow  your  'And'." 

"You  command  and  I  obey,  counting  on  your  good- 
ness. To-morrow  morning  I  would  bring  one  after 
the  other  up  on  deck,  providing  of  course,  that  all  was 
safe,  and  would  wash  their  festering  wounds  with 
brandy.  They  will  then  heal,  and  your  "ebony"  will 
be  fresh." 

"You  are  a  good  counsellor  and  ought  to  become 
a  judge  in  Santa  Catharina  or  Rio/'  cried  the  Captain. 
"It  shall  be  done." 

"It  will  cost  you  little  and  profit  you  much/'  con- 
tinued Antonio.  "What  flag  do,  you  order?  The  sun 
is  rising  above  the  rim  of  the  sea,  and  there  is  no  sail 
in  sight."  With  this  he  glanced  quickly  around  the 
horizon. 

The  captain  lifted  his  spy  glass,  which  he  held  in 
his  hand,  and  carefully  scanned  the  sea  in  every  direc- 
tion, and  then  said:  "No,  there  is  none  in  sight,  the 
saint  be  praised!" 

"Yo-u  see/'  he  continued,  "a  slaver  must  use 
trickery  and  deception,  or  things  will  go  wrong.  Hoist 
the  stars  and  stripes  of  the  United  States.  This  will 
inspire  wholesome  respect,  should  any  redcoat  (as 
sailors  call  Englishmen),  look  upon  us  too  affection- 
ately." 

"All  hands  on  deck !"   he  cried. 

As  by  magic  the  crew  appeared  on  deck  and  fell 
into  line,  although  some  of  them  still  looked  pretty 
sleepy. 

"Boys,"  said  the  captain,  "the  horizon  is  clear;  it 
is.  day,  and  the  shores  of  Africa  have  sunk  in  the  sea. 
This  is  an  elegant  breeze.  Why,  I  couldn't  make  it  better 


36 

myself.   We  are  making  as  many  knots  in  one  hour,  as 
we  usually  make  in  three.    Double  portions  of  rum !" 

"Hurrah  !"  yelled  the  sailors. 

"Hush !  The  sea  has  ears !"  continued  the  captain. 
"We  must  not  grow  careless.  Bring  the  cannon  on  deck 
and  load  them!" 

As  when  a  gust  of  wind  sweeps  among  the  chaff, 
the  sailors  scattered  in  every  direction,  for  each  one  had 
his  particular  duty. 

In  less  than  quarter  of  an  hour  the  cannon  were 
in  place  and  loaded. 

"There,"  said  the  captain  with  a  satisfied  air,  "now 
mask  them  with  sail  as  good  as  you  can." 

This  was  done  with  swiftness  and  yet  with  great 
care. 

"And  now  to  breakfast,  boys!" 

This  was  a  welcome  command,  especially  since 
there  were  to  be  double  portions  of  rum. 

After  breakfast  the  captain  commanded  to  bring 
up  the  negroes  one  by  one,  and  to  wash  out  their 
wounds  with  salt-water  and  brandy.  This  operation  was 
indeed  painful,  but  healing.  But  what  brought  an  ex- 
pression of  dissatisfaction  upon  the  face  of  the  cap- 
tain, was  the  fact,  that  seven  children  and  three  negro 
women  had  died  during  the  night. 

The  corpses  were  thrown  overboard  without  cere- 
mony, and  the  sharks,  which  followed  the  ship  in 
schools,  immediately  devoured  them. 

"Pshaw  r  cried  the  captain.  "It  is  a  loss,  of  course. 
But  what's  the  difference!  I  do  not  care  if  a  dozen 
more  die." 

"O,  you  demon  in  human  form !"  muttered  Antonio 
to  himself,  as  he  allowed  another  corpse  to  glide  into 

the  sea. 

The  negroes  received  their  breakfast,  and  the 
hatches  remained  open.  Antonio's  advice  had  borne 


37 

fruit,  because  the  captain's  common  sense  showed  the 
advantage  of  such  a  course. 

The  condition  of  the  unfortunates  was  terrible. 
Their  wounds  were  festering  and  many  of  them  had 
their  backs  lacerated  by  the  blows  of  the  shambock. 
Many  of  the  wounds  were  strongly  inflamed.  There 
was  no  surgeon  on  board,  and  the  only  one  who 
went  to  any  trouble  to  alleviate  the  sufferings  of  the 
poor  wretches,  was  Antonio.  The  captain  did  not  in- 
terfere with  him,  because  he  saw  that  what  he  was  do- 
ing, was  to  his  profit.  He  took  particular  interest  in 
Cullock  and  the  members  of  his  family,  and  did  every- 
thing in  his  power  to  make  their  unhappy  condition 
bearable.  And  the  boy,  he  seemed  to  love  before  all, 
and  whatever  he  could  find  to  give  him  pleasure,  he 
brought  him  in  secret. 

The  course  of  the  vessel  remained  the  same,  the 
strong  breeze  continuing  steady,  swelling  the  sails, 
without  however,  doing  harm.  In  spite  of  Antonio's 
care,  whom  the  sailors  nicknamed  the  "father  of  the 
niggers,"  several  negroes  died  every  day,  because  the 
heat  in  the  pen  was  insufferable,  and  the  wounds  also 
healed  but  slowly  and  easily  became  mortified,  pro- 
ducing death. 

Thus  the  ship  sailed  along  until  it  arrived  off  Cape- 
town. All  danger  was  not  yet  past,  but  it  was  much  less 
to  be  expected  that  they  would  be  overtaken  by  a 
cruiser. 

This  part  of  the  sea  is  much  feared  by  seafaring  men. 
Calms,  often  continuing  for  many  days,  in  turn  are  fol- 
lowed by  terrific  storms,  from  whose  violence  there  is 
scarcely  any  escape. 

Here  the  vessel  struck  a  calm,  accompanied  by  an 
intense  heat.  For  three  days  the  ship  did  not  seem  to 
advance  a  foot.  It  was  a  matter  of  congratulation  that 
it  was  not  intercepted.  It  escaped  this  danger  'perhaps, 


because  its  build  was  not  like  that  of  the  common  slave 
ships,  but  that  it  rose  above  the  waves  in  slender  and 
graceful  outline.  No  one  suspected  it.  It  is  true,  that 
it  was  a  lucky  thing  for  the  captain,  that  all  sailing  ves- 
sels were  suffering  under  the  same  misfortune,  and 
pursuit  by  cruisers  was  not  much  to  be  feared.  But 
what  filled  the  soul  of  the  slaver  with  care,  was  the 
thought  of  the  steamers,  which  wealthy  England  was 
using  even  at  that  early  date.  If  one  of  these  came 
into  the  neighborhood  of  the  ship,  discovery  was  cer- 
tain and  all  would  be  lost. 

To  this  constant  fear  there  came  another  matter 
of  serious  concern.  A  contagious  disease  had  broken  out 
among  the  negroes,  who  were  packed  so  closely  in  the 
pen.  Impure  air,  little  water,  and  poor  food,  sorrow 
and  care,  were  the  causes,  and  it  seized  upon  its  vic- 
tims with  deadly  power,  and  swept  them  away  in  the 
course  of  a  few  days.  The  captain  did  not  dare  to  leave 
them  up  on  deck,  because  he  feared  discovery,  and 
down  in  the  narrow  pen  death  seemed  certain  to  many. 

This  situation  drove  the  captain  beside  himself.  His 
humors  were  unbearable,  and  his  irritability  increased 
day  by  day.  The  most  trivial  mistake  on  the  part  of 
the  sailors  brought  the  most  severe  punishment. 

"If  a  steamer  comes  along,  I  am  lost ;  but  I  would 
rather  bury  myself  and  my  ship  in  the  depths  of  the  sea, 
than  permit  myself  to  be  taken!"  he  often  exclaimed, 
as  he  ran  up  and  down  the  deck  like  a  madman.  Al- 
though a  steamer  was  rare  in  those  waters  at  that  time, 
yet  they  appeared  as  the  thing  most  to  be  dreaded  by 
his  guilty  conscience. 

The  blacks  suffered  intensely  under  the  burning 
rays  of  the  sun,  and  even  the  air  that  entered  into  their 
pen  seemed  like  the  air  from  the  mouth  of  a  furnace. 
The  disease  threatened  to  become  a  pest.  Several 
slaves  died  dailv  and  even  one  of  the  sailors  succumbed. 


39 

The  wretched  victims  had  grown  so  dulled  in  their 
suffering,  that  they  saw  the  bodies  of  their  companions 
in  misery  dragged  by  them  with  indifference,  and  even 
the  falling  of  the  corpse  into  the  waters  of  the  sea,  no 
longer  moved  them.  They  bore  their  sufferings  and  per- 
haps considered  those  happy,  who  were  relieved  by 
death. 

Only  Golima,  Cullock  and  the  child  had  been 
spared  until  now,  since  Antonio  tried  to  relieve  their 
condition  in  every  way.  Their  bed  was  near  the  hatch, 
where  they  had  better  air,  and  the  sufferings  from  thirst 
Antonio  would  ease,  though  he  had  to  deny  himself  the 
refreshment.  In  spite  of  all  he  found  Cullock  one 
morning  attacked  by  the  disease,  and  Golima  in  despair 
over  his  condition. 

Antonio  saw  that  the  violence  with  which  the  dis- 
ease had  attacked  him,  would  hasten  the  end.  And  he 
was  not  mistaken. 

On  the  morning  on  the  following  day  already, 
he  was  a  corpse.  When  they  came  to  get  him, 
in  order  to  cast  his  lifeless  body  into  the  sea, 
Golima  could  not  control  herself.  She  begged  the 
sailors  piteously  to  cast  her  and  the  child  into  the  sea 
with  Cullock.  Even  the  roughest  of  the  sailors,  al- 
though they  did  not  understand  the  language  of  the  in- 
consolable woman,  and  although  their  hearts  had  been 
hardened  against  all  tender  feeling  by  their  terrible 
traffic  with  human  beings,  were  moved  by  the  sight  of 
her  sorrow,  and  they  knew  what  the  unfortunate  wo- 
man meant  by  her  soft  plaintive  words.  They  showed 
their  sympathy  with  her  and  her  child,  but  they  could 
not  console  her.  She  neither  ate  nor  drank,  and  the  sor- 
row of  her  soul  grew  more  intense  day  by  day. 

Just  at  this  time  a  furious  storm  broke  over  the 
vessel,  which  threatened  death  and  destruction.  It  con- 
tinued for  two  days  and  two  nights.  The  sailors  barely 


40 

found  the  time  to  remove  the  dead  from  the  pen,  and 
to  give  nourishment  to  the  living.  During  those  two 
days  it  was  indeed  for  them  a  battle  between  life  and 
death.  Then  it  cleared  and  a  favorable  wind  arose, 
driving  the  ship  swiftly  before  it,  and  the  sailors  busied 
themselves  in  repairing  the  damage  resulting  from  the 
storm. 

But  during  these  days  death  had  held  a  fearful 
harvest  among  the  negroes.  Only  thirty  of  them  were 
left.  Golima  also  had  fallen  a  prey  to  the  pest.  Unless 
all  were  to  perish  miserably  in  the  infected  hold,  quick 
and  energetic  methods  would  have  to  be  resorted  to. 
The  captain  had  grown  somewhat  milder  since  he  was 
beyond  the  danger  of  being  seized.  Antonio  therefore 
ventured  to  approach  him  on  the  subject  of  the  care  of 
the  slaves,  and  to  his  surprise  the  captain  agreed  with 
him.  As  the  weather  was  beautiful,  a  large  tent,  cover- 
ed with  sailcloth,  was  erected  on  deck.  Mats  were  laid 
under  it,  and  now  there  crept  out  of  the  pen  figures, 
whose  appearance  made  Antonio's  heart  bleed.  They 
were  reeling  skeletons,  half  corpses.  The  boy  also,  who 
was  now  without  father  or  mother,  came  out.  He  fell 
around  Antonio's  neck,  who  could  not  restrain  his  tears. 
Just  so  forsaken  he  had  been  as  a  child,  and  tender 
mercy  had  taken  care  of  him.  He  pressed  the  child  to 
his  bosom,  and  as  he  lifted  his  eyes  to  heaven,  he 
vowed  that  he  would  be  a  father  to  the  boy  and  thus 
carry  off  a  debt  which  he  owed  his  Father  in  heaven, 
for  all  the  grace  shown  him  during  his  tender  years. 

The  changed  conditions  had  a  wonderful  effect 
upon  the  negroes.  The  contagious  disease  disappeared. 
Those  who  were  sick  recovered,  and  soon  the  captain 
gratefully  pressed  Antonio's  hand  for  his  good  and 
timely  advice. 

The  captain  was  so  friendly  toward  him,  and  his 
influence  was  so  great,  that  he  approved  of  everything 


41 

which  he  did.  The  negro  boy  was  permitted  to  go 
about  with  Antonio  in  perfect  freedom,  and  in  truth, 
the  little  fellow  would  not  leave  him  for  a  minute.  They 
had  to  hold  him  back  by  force,  when  Antonio  had  to  go 
aloft  into  the  rigging,  and  then  he  cried  until  his  friend 
returned.  This  affection  on  the  part  of  the  boy  drew 
Antonio  to  him  closer  day  by  day.  The  anguish  of  the 
child  and  his  sorrow  over  the  death  of  his  parents,  had 
been  violent,  but  soon  passed  over.  He  clung  to  An- 
tonio, and  he  rewarded  him  with  a  love  capable  of  any 
sacrifice.  Antonio  also  had  no  one  to  love  him,  and  he 
had  never  experienced  so  much  affection  in  all  his  life. 
And  so  the  child  took  possession  of  his  whole  heart. 
Every  spare  minute  he  had  was  devoted  to  the  child. 
He  played  with  him,  and  gave  himself  great  pains  to 
teach  him  the  Portuguese  language,  and  the  boy  being 
exceptionally  bright,  he  had  fine  success.  It  was  the 
sunlight  of  love,  in  which  the  boy  wonderfully  develop- 
ed. He  was  so  quick,  so  willing,  and  eager,  and  at  the 
same  time  so  comical,  that  he  soon  became  the  pet  of 
the  whole  crew,  and  even  of  the  captain. 

Gradually  the  vessel  was  approaching  those  waters, 
where  they  could  hourly  expect  to  see  the  palmgrown 
coast  of  Brazil  appear  above  the  sea.  This  hope,  which 
filled  the  captain  and  the  crew  with  new  life,  filled  the 
soul  of  Antonio  with  sorrow  and  care.  As  they  drew 
near  to  their  destination,  there  drew  near  also  the  se- 
paration from  his  young  pet.  He  thought  with  horror 
of  the  sale  of  the  boy  as  soon  as  they  should  reach  the 
harbor  of  Santa  Catharina.  If  he  had  possessed  means, 
he  would  gladly  have  given  all  to  own  this  boy. 
A  thousand  plans  passed  through  his  brain,  but  not 
one  offered  a  hope  of  realization.  His  wages,  earned 
on  this  unfortunate  voyage;  was  all  he  had  in  the  world, 
and  the  sum  was  not  sufficient  to  pay  the  price  of  the 
child.  But  one  day  a  bright  thought  came  into  his 


42 

mind,  which  showed  more    than    anything  else,  how 
much  he  loved  the  boy. 

He  did  not  know  what  service  on  board  a  slave 
ship  meant,  until  he  entered  the  employ  of  Captain 
Cordela.  Now  he  had  learned  to  know  its  curse,  its 
woe,  its  terrors,  and  his  whole  soul  shrank  from  making 
another  such  a  voyage.  He  often  declared  to  his  mess- 
mates, that  he  would  rather  beg  for  bread  in  the  streets 
of  his  native  town,  and  never  again  tread  the  deck  of  a 
vessel,  than  again  enter  the  service  of  a  slaver.  They 
used  to  laugh  at  him  and  mock  him,  and  call  him  a 
sleepy  head,  but  he  took  no  notice  of  it,  and  stood  by 
his  resolution.  His  views  were  not  unknown  to  the 
captain.  But  Antonio  had  proven  himself  to  be  such 
an  excellent  seaman,  that  the  captain,  instead  of  being 
angry  with  him,  sought  to  bind  him  to  his  service  by  all 
sorts  of  attentions  and  favors.  After  a  severe  struggle, 
in  which  his  love  for  the  boy  strove  with  his  adhorrence 
of  the  pictures  of  woe  and  cruelty,  which  he  had  seen, 
Antonio  formed  a  resolution.  One  evening,  when  the 
cry :  "Land,  ahead !"  was  momentarily  expected  from 
the  lookout,  he  approached  the  captain. 

"If  I  had  it  in  my  power  to  do  what  you  can,"  he 
said,  "that  fine  boy  would  have  to  stay  aboard,  and  I 
would  train  a  helmsman  who  would  vainly  seek  his 
equal.  Or  if  you  don't  care  for  that,  why  I  would  keep 
him  as  my  body  slave,  who  would  have  to  acompany 
me  wherever  I  went." 

"You  are  a  fool  over  that  boy,"  said  the  captain, 
"I  would  have  to  wait  a  long  time  for  a  helmsman, 
whom  I  could  get  much  sooner,  in  case  Juan  should  de- 
cide to  leave  the  ship  and  desert  me,  and  I  have  no  need 
of  a  body  slave  as  long  as  I  am  able  to  help  myself. 
Such  a  thing  is  an  unnecessary  ballast  on  a  slaver,  and 
the  selection  of  a  negro  for  such  a  position  would  give 
me  the  testimony  that  I  am  an  idiot.  Don't  you  under- 


43 

stand  that?    And  besides,    have  you    considered    the 
amounts  I  have  lost  on  this  unlucky  trip?    No,  he  shall 

be  sold." 

Antonio's  head  fell,  and  his  heart  almost  stopped 
beating.  At  length  he  said: 

"Captain,  you  seem  to  be  satisfied  with  me?" 

"Yes,"  replied  the  captain,  "you  are  a  first  class, 
brave  seaman,  faithful,  dilligent,  and  obedient.  And 
therefore  I  am  sorry  that  you  have  such  a  soft  nature 
and  are  unwilling  again  to  serve  on  board  a  slave  ship." 

"Thanks,  sir,  for  your  opinion!  But  I  was  not 
created  for  service  on  board  a  slaver/' 

"You  are  a  fool,  I  say,"  replied  the  captain.  "No 
man  has  proven  himself  more  useful  than  you." 

"Well,"  rejoined  Antonio,  "be  that  as  it  may.  I 
have  different  views  than  you  have.  The  misery  of 
those  poor  wretches  stirs  my  very  soul." 

"Pshaw!"  cried  the  captain.  "Has  anyone  been 
talking  nonsense  to  you?  I  know  that  there  are  some 
fools  who  think  these  niggers  are  human  beings." 

"What  else  should  they  be?"  asked  Antonio  deep- 
ly shocked. 

"They  are  half  human,  a  higher  kind  of  ape,  able 
to  talk  and  work/'  cried  the  captain. 

"There,  you  may  now  see  that  you  can  have  no 
use  for  me,"  said  Antonio.  "To  me  they  are  human 
beings  as  well  as  we.  And  you  can  not  get  this  con- 
viction out  of  my  head." 

"And  so  you  really  intend  to  leave  me  ?" 

"Yes,  sir." 

"Think  a  moment,  Antonio.  I  will  give  you  double 
your  present  wages.  Do  you  hear?  Double  wages,  if 
you  will  stay  with  me.  Not  every  voyage  is  like  this 
one.  I  have  firmly  resolved  never  again  to  take  aboard 
so  heavy  a  load.  I  have  at  last  seen  where  my  ad- 
vantage lies." 


44 

"That  may  be,"  said  Antonio.  "There  is  but  one 
condition  under  which  I  could  stay  with  you,  and  stay 
as  long  as  I  live." 

The  captain  started.  "What  condition  is  that?" 
he  cried. 

"If  the  boy  were  also  always  kept  on  board  and 
near  me,"  replied  Antonio. 

"Didn't  I  say  it?"  cried  the  captain,  "the  fellow  is 
an  incorrigible  fool." 

"I  only  ask  the  same  wages  I  am  now  receiving," 
continued  Antonio. 

"I  am  sorry  that  I  cannot  grant  your  request,  An- 
tonio," said  the  captain.  "In  the  first  place  it  would  be 
a  most  unwise  thing  to  keep  a  negro  on  board  a  slave 
ship,  who  would  be  liable  at  any  time  to  cut  the  bonds 
of  his  countrymen,  and  raise  a  mutiny.  It  would  not  be 
the  first  time  such  a  thing  has  happened.  In  the  second 
place,  the  boy  is  as  good  as  sold.  Do  you  know  the 
rich  old  Don  Xaverio  Valdes,  who  lives  in  the  beautiful 
house  on  the  Alameda  in  Santa  Catharina?" 

"No,  sir." 

"Well,  he  is  perhaps  the  richest  man  in  the  city. 
He  said  to  me  before  I  started  on  my  voyage :  'Captain 
Cordela,  if  you  ever  come  across  a  negro  slave  whom 
you  consider  particularly  talented,  save  him  for  me.  I 
will  pay  anything  you  ask  for  him.'  Don't  you  see  that 
the  rich  old  fellow  will  have  to  pay  me  enough  for  the 
boy  to  make  good  the  loss  of  three  negroes?" 

"I  understand/'  said  Antonio,  and  withdrew  to  his 
berth.  His  last  hope  had  disappeared.  He  kissed  the 
sleeping  boy,  and  then  gave  way  to  his  sorrow  until 
sleep  overcame  him. 

Since  then  a  mountain  seemed  to  lay  upon  the  soul 
of  the  poor  fellow,  which  not  even  the  most  tender 
caresses  of  the  boy  could  remove,  in  fact  the  burden 
seemed  but  to  be  increased  thereby.  He  would  sit  for 


45 

hours  staring  into  the  sea,  and  when  he  gazed  upon  the 
boy  his  eyes  grew  moist.  He  did  not  confide  his  feel- 
ings to  any  one.  But  what  troubled  him  was  the  thought 
of  leaving  the  boy,  the  first  being  which  had  ever  en- 
tertained an  affection  for  him,  and  become  closely  as- 
sociated with  him. 


CHAPTER   V. 

The  cry  of  the  lookout  in  the  shrouds:  "Land! 
Land!"  caused  a  shout  of  joy  to  be  raised  by  the 
sailors.  Only  Antonio  gazed  sorrowfully  into  the  dis- 
tance, where  the  coast  of  Brazil  soon  appeared  like  a 
low  hazy  strip  along  the  horizon.  They  had  come  at 
last  to  the  end  of  their  toils  and  trials,  Antonio  to  the 
end  of  his  happiness.  This  was  the  great  difference 
which  lay  at  the  bottom  of  their  varied  display  of 
feeling. 

Antonio  sat  upon  a  coil  of  heavy  rope,  leaning 
against  the  deckrail,  with  the  boy  between  his  knees. 

"Why  are  the  people  shouting  so  loud?"  he  asked 
in  broken  Portuguese. 

"Do  you  see  that  narrow  line  along  the  horizon?" 
asked  Antonio.  "It  is  the  coast  of  their  country." 

"Is  it  not  your  country  also?"   asked  the  boy. 

"Yes,  it  is  mine  also." 

"And  are  you  not  happy?" 

Antonio  sighed.  "They  are  returning  to  father  and 
mother,  to  wife  and  child,"  he  replied  sadly.  "No  one 
awaits  me.  I  have  no  one  there  to  love  me." 

"But  I  am  here !"  cried  the  boy  and  threw  his  arms 
about  his  neck. 


46 

Tears  filled  Antonio's  eyes,  which  he  hid  by  pres- 
sing the  boy  closely  to  his  breast,  and  hiding  his  face  in 
his  woolly  head. 

After  a  while  he  said:  "And  yet  we  two  will  have 
to  part." 

"No,  no,"  cried  the  boy.  "That  I  will  never  do. 
"And  he  clung  closely  to  his  friend.  "It  were  better  for 
them  to  throw  me  into  the  sea,  as  they  did  my  father 
and  mother.  O,  keep  me  with  you!  I  will  ever  be 
obedient,  and  always  love  you  as  I  do  now." 

These  words  cut  Antonio  to  the  very  soul.  Pres- 
sing the  boy  passionately  to  his  breast,  he  cried:  "O, 
if  only  I  could !  Nothing  should  separate  us,  but  death." 

"Why  can  you  not  ?"   asked  the  boy  in  fright. 

Antonio  did  not  wish  to  tell  the  boy  the  terrible 
truth,  and  perhaps  he  would  not  even  have  understood 
him.  He  preferred  therefore  to  remain  silent.  But  the 
child  so  pressed  him  with  his  questions  and  petitions, 
that  he  was  glad  to  be  able  to  escape  giving  him  an 
answer,  at  least  for  the  present,  when  the  command  of 
the  captain  summoned  him  away. 

On  the  following  morning  the  coast  lay  before 
them.  The  mountains  of  the  interior  appeared  clothed 
in  a  delicate  bluish  haze,  and  the  shore,  in  some  places 
even  the  rocky  coast,  was  covered  with  green  of  every 
shade.  The  scene  was  beautiful.  Swiftly  they  ap- 
proached the  shore,  whose  details  the  naked  eye  was 
soon  able  to  distinguish.  The  captain  himself  now  took 
the  wheel,  because  here  he  was  thoroughly  acquainted 
with  every  inch  of  ground. 

When  they  came  near  to  Santa  Catharina  a  pilot 
came  on  board,  to  whom  the  captain  resigned  the 
wheel.  Then  the  health  officers  of  the  port  arrived,  and 
finding  some  of  the  negroes  still  sick,  they  left  the  ship 
with  orders  to  anchor  in  the  outer  harbor,  and  to  hoist 


47 

the  yellow  flag,  since  the  vessel  would  have  to  be 
quarantined  from  three  to  four  weeks. 

This  was  a  bitter  piece  of  news  for  the  captain, 
who  knew  however,  that  these  people  very  much  relaxed 
their  strictness  under  a  bribe.  He  called  them  back. 
A  slave  dealer,  who  carries  on  such  a  vile  and  godless 
business,  is  not  particular  about  the  matter  of  honesty, 
and  unfortunately  there  are  so  many  people  who  can  be 
approached  with  bribes,  and  become  faithless  in  the  dis- 
charge of  their  duty.  This  one  thing  is  certain  before 
God  and  men,  that  he  who  offers  a  bribe  is  just  as  much 
to  be  condemned,  as  th^  one  who  receives  it,  and  per- 
mits himself  to  be  turned  from  the  discharge  of  his 
duty.  But  one  must  not  be  surprised  to  find  such  cor- 
ruption in  a  country,  where  men  are  bought  and  sold 
like  beasts,  where  slavery  is  permitted  and  legally  pro- 
tected. 

When  the  captain  returned  to  the  vessel  he  smiled 
slyly  and  remarked:  "The  yellow  flag  will  only  wave 
two  weeks  from  the  top  of  the  mizzen." 

The  yellow  flag  is  the  signal  that  there  is  contagi- 
ous disease  on  board.  As  soon  as  it  is  hoisted,  all  com- 
munication with  the  shore  ceases,  except  when  a  boat 
under  guard,  approaches  to  supply  the  ship  with  fresh 
victuals.  Quarantine  is  maintained  until  it  is  certain 
that  every  trace  of  disease  has  disappeared.  This  care 
that  no  contagious  disease  is  introduced,  is  extremely 
necessary.  It  is  well-known  that  the  terrible  plague  is 
found  in  Africa  as  well  as  in  Asia,  also  cholera,  and 
other  contagious  diseases.  These  diseases  are  spread 
by  persons  who  are  afflicted  with  them,  coming  over  in 
vessels,  but  can  also  be  introduced  by  merchandise  in- 
fected with  disease  germs,  such  as  wool,  cotton  etc. 
Whenever  a  vessel  arrives  from  such  a  plague  district, 
it  must  lie  at  anchor  until  the  doctors  declare  that  even- 
danger  is  past.  Formerly  the  death  penalty  was  in- 


flicted  upon  anyone  who  broke  the  quarantine,  and 
secretly  landed  from  a  vessel  upon  which  the  yellow  Hag 
had  been  hoisted. 

There  are  found  on  every  coast  men,  who  belong 
to  a  reckless  and  dangerous  class,  who  break  the  laws 
of  God  and  man  with  utmost  shamelessness,  carrying 
on  unlawful  trade,  and  differing  little  from  common 
thieves  and  murderers.  These  are  the  smugglers.  As 
necessary  as  the  quarantine  laws  are,  these  smugglers 
succeed  in  putting  themselves  in  communication  with  a 
quarantined  vessel,  under  cover  of  the  night.  And  so 
it  was  here.  Captain  Cordela,  being  a  most  unscrupul- 
ous person,  did  not  hesitate  to  take  advantage  of  this 
circumstance  to  gain  his  ends.  There  is  a  connection 
between  our  various  doings;  one  depends  upon  the 
other,  and  well  has  the  Bible  said:  "He  that  is  faithful 
in  that  which  is  least  is  faithful  also  in  much ;  and  he  that 
is  unjust  in  the  least  is  unjust  also  in  much."  It  would 
be  well  for  us  all  to  take  this  lesson  to  heart.  Shun 
the  so-called  little  sins  and  you  will  not  be  in  so  much 
danger  of  falling  into  great  sins.  But  if  any  man  per- 
mits the  stealing  of  human  beings,  buys  and  sells  them 
like  cattle,  to  him  nothing  would  appear  sinful;  he  is 
capable  of  doing  the  worst  things  without  hesitation. 

There  is  no  question,  that  a  quarantine  is  exceed- 
ingly disagreeable  to  men,  who  have  come  from  a  long 
journey,  and  are  eager  to  see  their  families  and  friends, 
and  to  escape  from  the  tiresome  and  monotous  life  of 
the  ship.  But  it  is  a  most  necessary  arrangement  and 
must  be  strictly  enforced. 

Thus  the  vessel  lay  at  anchor,  lazily  rocking  upon 
the  waves  of  the  harbor  of  Santa  Catharina,  in  spite  of 
bribes,  even  though  there  was  not  a  single  patient  on 
board,  and  only  a  few,  who  showed  traces  of  having 
been  ill.  To  have  the  shore  before  them  and  yet  not  be 
permitted  to  land,  was  most  irritating  for  all,  especially 


49 

for  the  captain.  But  he  was  too  shrewd  not  to  draw 
some  business  advantage  even  out  of  such  a  situation. 
He  proposed  to  have  the  report  spread,  that  British 
cruisers  had  seized  six  slave  ships,  and  that  for  this 
reason  very  few  slaves  would  be  brought  to  market. 
But  he  was  bringing  Eboes,  an  excellent  class  of  slaves. 
The  abominable  falsehood  he  was  spreading,  did  not 
disturb  his  conscience,  so  long  as  he  drove  up  the  price 
of  his  slaves.  He  suggested  to  Antonio,  that  he  should 
carry  out  this  trick. 

Antonio  refused,  even  though  he  was  most  anxious 
to  get  to  shore  for  other  reasons.  "Let  the  smugglers, 
who  bring  your  victuals,  do  that,"  said  he. 

This  might  well  be  done,  and  the  captain,  who  did 
not  wish  to  spoil  his  chance  of  retaining  Antonio,  said 
no  more  about  it,  even  though  the  refusal  angered  him. 

"But  how  can  I  be  sure  that  these  rascals  will  do 
it,  even  though  I  pay  them  well?"  said  the  captain. 
"Will  you  not  at  least  do  this  for  me?  Go  ashore  and 
find  out  whether  they  spread  the  report  or  not!  You 
are  only  to  hear  what  people  say  and  bring  me  word." 

Quick  as  a  flash,  Antonio  caught  at  the  word.  He 
saw  no  wrong  in  the  proposition  and  immediately  as- 
sented. One  thought  was  uppermost  in  his  mind;  he 
wished  to  go  to  Don  Xaverio  Valdes  and  see  if  he 
could  not  obtain  work  with  him,  so  as  to  be  near  the 
boy.  He  set  his  whole  hope  upon  this  move. 

Night  had  scarcely  thrown  her  mantle  over  land 
and  sea,  and  all  life  and  traffic  begun  to  rest,  ere  the 
smugglers  came  in  their  boats  to  supply  whatever  was 
needed  of  fruits  .and  vegetables,  which  the  fertile  coasts 
of  Brazil  supplied  in  abundance.  The  captain  called 
them  aboard  and  promised  them  a  fine  sum  of  money  if 
they  would  spread  the  report.  Without  hesitation  they 
entered  in  upon  the  scheme,  and  after  they  had  enjoyed 
some  of  the  products  of  Africa,  which  the  captain  still 

Simon.  4 


50 

had  left,  they  rccntcrcd  their  boats  and  took  Antonio 
with  them,  who  had  to  go  ashore  on  other  business  of 
the  captain,  as  he  declared. 

Silently  and  with  regular  stroke  they  rowed  toward 
the  shore.  No  one  took  notice  of  them,  for  the  coast 
guards  are  usually  in  league  with  them.  After  a  short 
while  they  landed  in  a  little  cove,  where  they  hid  their 
boat  under  overhanging  branches,  and  soon  they  were 
in  the  city. 

Antonio,  who  had  received  some  money  from  the 
captain,  looked  up  a  lodging  house,  and  having  found 
what  he  wanted,  took  a  good  long  rest,  undisturbed  by 
the  rocking  of  the  ship,  or  the  ceaseless  splash  of 
waves.  Most  earnestly  he  prayed  that  his  honest 
purpose  might  succeed,  and  that  he  might  not  be 
separated  from  his  young  friend. 


CHAPTER   VI 

Up  to  this  point  I  have  been  compelled  to  give  my 
readers  a  glimpse  into  a  life,  from  which  they  would 
rather  have  turned  away,  a  life  estranged  from  God  and 
everything,  which  is  holy  and  true,  and  given  over  to 
the  gratification  of  wild  and  brutal  passions ;  a  life  ut- 
terly lacking  in  the  peace  of  God,  because  it  lacked  God. 
Unfortunately  we  find  examples  of  godlessness  about 
us  also,  which  fill  us  with  loathing  and  disgust,  and 
which  ought  to  teach  us  to  love  the  more  that  which  is 
noble  and  godly.  If  Antonio's  naturally  good  and  true 
heart,  which  had  been  hardened  by  his  rough  surround- 
ings, was  again  awakened  to  a  sense  of  duty  and  a  de- 
sire for  nobler  and  better  things  by  the  excess  of 


51 

wickedness,  which  he  had  seen  from  day  to  day,  why 
should  we  not  also  have  a  similar  experience?  As  dur- 
ing the  dark  night  we  yearn  for  the  return  of  day,  so 
let  us  turn  from  the  evil,  whenever  we  see  its  repulsive 
face,  and  joyfully  greet  virtue. 

The  course  through  which  the  Lord  found  it  well 
to  lead  the  poor  negro  boy,  now  permits  me  to  direct 
you  attention  to  another  life.  We  shall  leave  the  slave 
dealer,  who  continued  his  accursed  business  until  the 
avenging  arm  of  the  Lord  found  him.  Upon  a  voyage 
to  Africa  he  was  overtaken  by  a  terrible  hurricane  in 
the  Indian  Ocean,  and  vthe  vessel  with  all  aboard  went 
down,  so  that  not  even  a  trace  of  any  of  them  was  ever 
found.  He  did  not  escape  the  arm  of  Him  who  judges 
aright,  and  the  sea,  upon  which  he  had  spent  the  greater 
part  of  his  godless  life,  became  the  instrument  of  ven- 
geance. 

In  Santa  Catharina  the  family  of  the  Valdes  had 
enjoyed  distinction  ever  since  the  city  had  been  found- 
ed by  Portuguese  immigrants.  The  family  originally 
came  from  Spain,  but  the  founder  of  this  house  had 
entered  Portuguese  service  as  a  general,  and  later  pur- 
chased extensive  property  near  Santa  Catharina,  and 
gradually  the  family  had  become  very  wealthy.  But  now 
it  had  died  out  with  the  exception  of  one  member.  This 
was  Don  Xaverio  Valdes,  who,  himself  well  advanced 
in  years,  lived  all  alone  in  his  magnificent  palace.  He 
had  not  always  lived  thus.  He  had  been  most  happily 
married,  but  a  fatal  fever  had  taken  away  his  wife. 
This  misfortune  threw  him  into  deep  despondency  for 
a  long  time.  Only  after  years  his  spirits  began  to  revive 
somewhat,  but  he  continued  to  withdraw  himself  from 
the  world  and  its  pleasure,  and  lived  along  quietly.  He 
considered  it  his  chief  business  in  life,  to  use  the  wealth 
which  God  had  given  him,  to  relieve  suffering  and  woe. 
All  slaves  on  his  extensive  plantations  had  long  since 


52 

been  given  their  freedom,  in  spite  of  the  bitter  protest 
of  the  defenders  of  slavery.  They  had  prophesied 
the  loss  of  all  his  wealth,  but  that  did  not  keep  the  man 
from  carrying  out  his  noble  and  holy  purpose.  The  re- 
sult proved  those  inhuman  slave  holders  to  be  liars. 
The  negroes  of  his  plantations  whom  he  had  freed,  and 
for  whom  he  provided  careful  moral  and  religious  in- 
struction, stood  ready  to  lay  down  their  lives  for  him 
at  any  time.  And  even  when,  besides  having  given  them 
full  freedom,  he  gave  to  each  one  a  parcel  of  ground 
from  whose  products  they  could  support  themselves, 
they  continued  to  work  for  him  as  laborers,  and  dis- 
charged their  duty  more  faithfully  than  the  slaves,  who 
had  felt  the  knotted  whip  of  the  overseer  under  his 
predecessors. 

His  large,  palatial  residence,  in  which  he  lived  his 
quiet,  good  life,  attended  by  a  few  trustworthy  servants, 
lay  on  the  Alameda,  the  shady  driveway  of  the  city. 
Large  gardens,  in  which  plants,  bushes,  and  trees  from 
all  parts  of  the  world  flourished,  lay  around  the  build- 
ings, and  the  property  was  surrounded  by  a  high  brick 
wall. 

Don  Xaverio  was  seldom  seen  excepting  at 
Church,  where  he  never  failed  to  publicly  worship  his 
Lord.  He  had  few  friends  with  whom  he  associated ; 
but  where  wretchedness  and  woe  was  found,  his  old 
negro  attendant  Ulpio,  who  was  more  friend  than  ser- 
vant, used  to  appear  with  refreshments  and  assistance, 
and  wherever  there  was  sickness  among  the  poor,  the 
physician  came,  sent  by  Don  Xaverio. 

He  had  once  met  Captain  Cordela,  who  was  known 
as  a  slave  dealer,  and  he  had  said  to  him :  "If  ever  you 
come  across  a  talented  negro  boy,  keep  him  for  me.  I 
promise  beforehand  to  pay  you  whatever  you  shall  ask." 
This  was  a  man  according  to  the  captain's  liking,  and 
since  he  had  observed  the  little  negro  slave  in  whom 


53 

Antonio  had  become  so  much  interested,  and  seen  his 
aptness,  and  the  remarkable  ease  with  which  he  acquir- 
ed a  knowledge  of  the  Portuguese  language,  it  had  be- 
come a  settled  matter  with  him  to  sell  the  boy  to  Don 
Xaverio  Valdes.  He  hoped  to  get  enough  for  him  to 
make  up  for  the  loss  of  several  of  the  other  negroes,  as 
he  frankly  acknowledged  to  Antonio,  and  it  was  this 
circumstance  that  suggested  to  Antonio  the  plan,  which 
he  determined  to  carry  out  in  spite  of  the  danger  con- 
nected with  his  going  ashore  contrary  to  the  law. 

Antonio  was  most  anxious  to  see  Don  Xaverio 
Valdes,  in  whom  he  reposed  great  hopes,  although  he 
did  not  know  exactly  how  to  present  his  plan.  Twice 
he  had  stood  at  the  gate  of  Don  Xaverio's  palace  on  the 
morning  -after  his  landing,  and  each  time  his  courage 
had  failed  him.  He  felt  that  it  was  a  decisive  step  he 
was  about  to  take,  and  the  happiness  of  his  future  life 
depended  upon  its  success. 

At  last,  it  was  near  noon,  and  the  sun  poured  its 
burning  rays  down  upon  the  parched  earth,  he.  ap- 
proached the  gate  for  the  third  time.  This  time  he 
entered  and  requested  an  interview  with  Don  Xaverio. 

The  negro  Ulpio  thinking  him  some  poor  un- 
fortunate seeking  assistance,  quickly  led  him  to  his 
master. 

Don  Xaverio  was  a  venerable  gentleman  with  such 
a  kind  manner,  and  such  an  encouraging  smile  upon  his 
lips,  that  Antonio  felt  his  heart  grow  much  lighter. 

"What  can  I  do  for  you?"  asked  Don  Xaverio 
kindly. 

Antonio  began  to  twirl  his  sailor's  cap  so  that  it 
revolved  faster  and  faster  between  his  nervous  fingers, 
but  he  did  not  seem  to  find  the  words  with  which  to 
begin.  At  last  he  said: 

"Are  you  the  gentleman  who  ordered  Don  Cor- 


1  nu-an  the  captain,  that  is confound  it! — the 

slave  dealer,  to  sell  you  a  child  ?" 

"It  was  my  intention  to  have  such  a  child  educated 
and  brought  up  a  Christian,"  Don  Xaverio  replied  with 
some  embarassment.  "To  have  one  stolen, — no !  God 
forbid !  I  wished  to  save  one." 

"I  thought  so,"  replied  Antonio.  "You  are  a  good 
man,  and  would  not  bring  blood  upon  your  soul." 

"Be  seated/'  continued  Don  Xaverio.  "Tell  me 
how  do  you  know  all  this,  and  what  brings  you  to  me  ?" 

Antonio's  courage  rose,  and  he  opened  his  heart. 
He  told  him  his  fortunes  up  to  the  time  of  his  taking 
service  with  Cordela  on  the  slave  ship.  The  tone  of 
his  voice  betrayed  the  sorrow  of  his  heart,  and  he  made 
a  deep  impression  upon  Don  Xaverio. 

Then  Antonio  described  his  experiences  in  Africa, 
and  on  board  the  slave  ship.  The  loathing  which  filled 
his  soul  and  his  deep  anger  were  plainly  reflected  in  his 
voice  and  words.  He  frequently  interrupted  his  nar- 
rative by  animated  expresions  of  his  feelings.  Thus, 
jumping  from  his  seat,  he  once  cried:  "No,  sir,  I  would 
rather  beg  bread  in  the  streets  of  my  native  town,  than 
receive  double  pay  upon  another  such  a  voyage,  as  the 
captain  promised.  It  is  nothing  but  man-stealing  and 
murder !" 

Don  Xaxerio  began  to  be  more  and  more  impressed 
with  the  honest  character  of  the  sailor,  who  spoke  so 
frankly  and  freely,  and  opened  his  heart  so  artlessly. 

Finally  he  came  to  speak  about  the  boy.  Here  the 
truth  of  the  Scriptures  was  beautifully  shown :  "Out 
of  the  abundance  of  the  heart  the  mouth  speaketh.  "His 
praise  of  the  boy  showed  his  deep  love  for  him.  He 
told  of  all  his  plans  and  attempts  to  stay  with  the  child, 
all  of  which  proved  futile,  and  at  last  he  cried  out : 
"Sir,  if  I  can  not  see  the  boy  every  day,  I  will  die !" 
And  as  he  spoke  large  tears  ran  down  his  weather- 


beaten  face.  As  he  impatiently  brushed  them  away  he 
grumbled  :  ''Foolish  eyes  !  They  always  give  me  water, 
when  I  have  to  look  toward  the  light!" 

Don  Valdes  smiled,  and  yet  it  cost  him  an  effort 
to  control  his  own  feelings,  as  he  saw  how  the  man 
struggled  to  overcome  his  emotion,  and  endeavored  to 
persuade  himself  that  his  tears  were  caused  by  the  sharp 
light,  although  they  were  caused  by  the  deep  feeling 
of  his  heart.  Don  Xaverio  saw  through  his  plan  clear- 
ly, and  had  already  come  to  a  decision  as  to  what  he 
would  do. 

"And  you  believe,"  he  began  again,  "that  Cordela 
will  sell  him  to  me?" 

"Certainly,  without  a  doubt,"  was  Antonio's  an- 
swer. "But — he  stopped  in  evident  embarrassment. 

"Why  do  you  hesitate?  Speak,"  Don  Xaverio  en- 
couraged him. 

"Well,"  continued  Antonio,  "it  would  be  a  great 
relief  to  me,  and  I  would  thank  God,  if  he  came  into 
your  hands ;  but — what  would  become  of  me  ?" 

"Why?"    asked  Don  Xaverio. 

"If  you  are  not  stark  blind,"  continued  Antonio, 
"you  must  have  seen,  that  a  separation  from  the  boy 
would  break  my  heart." 

"But  if  you  remain  here,  you  can  see  him  every 
day,"  said  Don  Xaverio. 

"Of  course,"  Antonio  broke  in ;  "but  a  man  can  not 
live  on  wind  and  hope.  A  church  mouse  is  a  millionaire 
compared  to  me." 

"But  what  is  to  be  done?"  asked  Don  Xaverio. 

"Ah,  kind  sir,"  said  Antonio,  "do  not  torture  me. 
You  know  what  I  wish,  and  yet  have  not  the  courage 
to  ask." 

Thereupon  Don  Xaverio  gave  him  his  hand  and 


56 

said :  "Yes,  I  know.  You  wish  me  to  take  you  into 
my  service  together  with  the  boy." 

"Ah,"  cried  Antonio,  "if  you  know  that  so  well, 
let  me  tell  you  something  more :  I  do  not  ask  for  wages. 
Give  me  bread,  the  necessary  clothing,  and  a  corner  to 
sleep  in ;  only  let  me  be  near  the  boy,  to  whom  I  am  at- 
tached with  my  whole  soul.  I  will  work  until  the  per- 
spiration runs  from  my  forehead,  as  long  as  I  can  move 
a  finger.  You  shall  not  have  a  more  faithful  servant, 
only  have  pity  upon  me,  buy  the  boy,  and  let  me  be 
near  him." 

"Your  wish  is  granted,"  said  Don  Xaverio  deeply 
moved. 

Antonio  reeled  and  had  to  support  himself.  Then 
he  folded  his  hands  and  prayed  silently.  And  then  he 
cried  out  joyfully:  "May  God  reward  you  for  the  kind- 
ness you  have  shown  me." 

Then  he  arose  and  prepared  to  go. 

"You  may  remain  here,  Antonio,"  said  Don  Xave- 
rio. "The  captain  is  not  yet  out  of  quarantine.  You 
can  live  here.  I  will  immediately  assign  you  your  du- 
ties. The  superintendent  of  my  gardens  has  just  died, 
and  you  shall  have  his  place.  I  will  give  you  a  salary 
which  shall  be  satisfactory.  But  perhaps  you  have  some 
other  business  to  transact?" 

"I  will  frankly  tell  you  what  brought  me  to  shore," 
said  Antonio.  "In  the  first  place  it  was  the  matter  you 
have  granted  me,  and  in  the  second  place  a  commission 
from  the  captain.  I  will  come  back  and  stay  here  until 
I  can  return  to  the  ship.  In  the  meantime,  I  would  ad- 
vise you  to  purchase  the  boy  through  me  while  he  is 
still  on  board.  Such  a  soul  seller  knows  nothing  about 
keeping  a  promise.  He  might  take  a  notion  to  sell  him 
to  some  one  else." 

"That  will  arrange  itself,"  said  Don  Xaverio  smil- 


57 

ing,  and  Antonio  went  his  way,  his  face  beaming  with 
satisfaction. 

Although  many  had  gone  out  from  that  house  with 
a  happy  heart,  very  few  were  ever  so  happy  as  Antonio. 
Now  all  his  anxiety  about  being  separated  from  the  boy 
was  taken  from  him.  His  own  future  also  had  become 
bright,  and  the  fear  that  he  would  some  time  have  to 
share  the  lot  of  so  many  an  old  sailor  compelled  to 
beg  for  bread  when  unable  to  work,  was  removed.  In 
a  most  happy  mood  he  wandered  about  the  city  and 
learned,  that  the  rumors  which  the  captain  had  caused 
to  be  spread,  were  everywhere  received  with  credit. 

When  he  had  made  shre  of  this,  he  prepared  to  re- 
turn on  board.  But  the  purchase  of  the  boy  still 
troubled  him.  However,  Don  Xaverio  relieved  him  of 
this  care  by  giving  him  a  personal  letter  to  the  captain, 
which  was  perfectly  satisfactory.  Moreover  the  report 
which  Antonio  brought  put  the  captain  in  good  humor, 
and  aroused  in  him  again  the  desire  to  secure  for  him- 
self the  services  of  the  sailor.  Antonio,  who  mistrusted 
him  and  feared  to  arouse  his  anger,  did  not  exactly  re- 
fuse, but  he  would  not  consent  either.  Moreover  he 
was  very  careful  not  to  let  him  know  what  offer  Don 
Xaverio  had  made  him.  The  captain  granted  him  time 
to  think  the  matter  over  until  he  had  disembarked  his 
cargo. 

The  health  officers  came  on  board  again  after  ten 
days.  They  found  no  new  cases,  and  since  the  presents 
of  the  captain  fully  convinced  them  that  all  was  well  on 
board,  they  ordered  the  yellow  flag  to  be  lowered  to 
the  great  satisfaction  of  the  crew,  and  the  ship  entered 
the  harbor.  The  ship  had  hardly  cast  her  anchor,  be- 
fore an  agent  from  Don  Xaverio  appeared  on  board  to 
take  the  boy.  But  as  gentle  as  the  child  had  been  until 
now,  so  violent  he  became  when  they  wished  to  remove 
him.  He  would  not  leave  without  Antonio.  The  cap- 


58 

tain  himself  had  to  request  the  sailor  to  pack  up  his  few 
things  and  go  with  him  and  remain  with  him  a  few  days 
until  he  should  have  grown  accustomed  to  his  new 
master.  He  paid  him  his  wages  and  invited  him  to  come 
aboard  as  often  as  he  could. 

Antonio  left  the  ship  just  as  numerous  slave  deal- 
ers, who  could  not  await  the  sale,  came  on  board,  a 
sure  sign  how  well  the  lying  reports  which  the  captain 
had  caused  to  be  spread,  had  done  their  work. 

At  first  the  boy  was  very  shy.  He  would  approach 
no  one.  Only  Don  Xaverio's  mild  manner  won  his 
heart.  He  would  not  for  a  moment  go  away  from  An- 
tonio, just  as  if  he  were  afraid,  that  Antonio  would 
leave  him.  He  assisted  him  in  his  work  in  the  garden, 
where  Don  Xaverio  had  assigned  Antonio  to  work,  and 
explained  to  him  just  how  he  wished  everything  to  be 
done.  Xaverio  permitted  this,  because  it  was  his  de- 
sire that  the  boy  should  become  thoroughly  accustomed 
to  his  surroundings,  before  he  had  him  educated.  But 
Antonio  soon  made  him  willing,  and  instruction  in  re- 
ligion and  in  other  branches  of  learning  began  in 
earnest  after  a  few  days.  Don  Xaverio,  who  had  fre- 
quently tried  the  same  experiment  in  vain,  was  amazed 
at  the  rapidity  with  which  the  boy  grasped  the  instruc- 
tion offered  him.  He  made  remarkable  advances,  not 
only  in  his  studies,  but  also  in  his  behaviour.  He  be- 
came more  gentle,  willing,  obedient,  and  refined  from 
day  to  day.  Antonio  contributed  a  good  bit  toward  the 
attainment  of  this  result.  During  his  unemployed 
hours  he  was  with  the  boy  continually,  and  held  a  re- 
lation over  against  him  like  that  of  an  affectionate 
father  toward  his  son.  At  the  end  of  a  year  of  such 
instruction,  the  boy  received  the  holy  sacrament  of 
Baptism  in  the  cathedral  of  Santa  Catharina,  the  name 
of  Simon  being  given  him. 

The  effect  which  his  baptism  had  upon  him  was  very 


59 

deep.  He  became  even  more  quiet  and  earnest,  and 
devoutly  followed  the  teachings  of  his  religion.  It  was 
touching  to  hear  how  earnestly  he  prayed  for  the  souls 
of  his  parents  day  by  day.  He  became  even  more  gentle 
and  tender  than  before,  and  ever  eager  to  serve  in  any 
way,  and  more  faithful  in  his  work  with  Antonio,  whose 
love  and  care  he  appreciated  more  and  more. 

There  was  no  doubt  about  Don  Xaverio's  intention 
to  grant  him  his  freedom.  The  touching  gratitude  of 
the  boy  toward  his  aged  benefactor,  moved  him  to 
bestow  the  greater  care  upon  his  education.  This  tender 
gratitude  never  changed  in  spite  of  the  peculiar  whims 
which  the  old  gentleman  sometimes  had,  and  about 
which  Antonio  would  now  and  then  complain. 

Some  years  thus  passed  in  peace  and  happiness. 
Simon  was  the  favorite  of  the  whole  household,  parti- 
cularly of  the  old  freedman,  the  negro  Ulpio,  and  An- 
tonio. He  grew  very  fast,  and  became  remarkably 
strong,  active,  and  animated.  His  knowledge  was  ex- 
ceptional. Being  a  good  penman,  he  kept  Don  Xave- 
rio's books,  and  was  treated  as  though  he  were  his  own 
son.  Under  these  circumstances  no  one  seemed  to 
think  that  Simon  was  still  a  slave,  the  property  of  Don 
Xaverio.  The  old  gentleman  had  begun  to  take  his 
comfort,  and  put  off  from  day  to  day  giving  him  his 
freedom  in  a  legal  manner.  Only  Ulpio  never  lost  sight 
of  this  important  matter,  and  frequently  reminded  Don 
Xaverio  of  it,  until  one  day,  without  the  knowledge  of 
Simon  and  Antonio,  he  wrote  the  letter  and  placed  it  in 
his  desk. 

Again  several  years  passed,  and  the  matter  was  not 
again  touched  upon.  Ulpio  was  contented  because  he 
knew  that  the  letter  of  manumission  had  been  written. 
During  this  time  ;L  heavier  blow  fell  upon  Simon  than 
any  he  had  experienced,  since  the  death  of  his  parents. 
Then  he  was  but  a  little  child,  and  could  not  appreciate 


60 

the  greatness  of  his  loss.  But  now  faithful  Antonio  fell 
ill,  and  he  did  not  recover.  The  hardships  which  the- 
sailor  had  endured,  prematurely  aged  him,  and  during 
the  last  years  of  his  life,  he  had  suffered  a  great  deal 
from  rheumatism.  The  wages  Don  Xaverio  had  given 
him,  he  never  used,  and  now  left  the  sum,  though  not 
large,  to  Simon.  Ulpio  saw  to  it  that  the  money  was 
safely  invested. 

Simon  cared  for  his  paternal  friend  most  tenderly. 
He  never  left  his  bedside  day  or  night,  and  when  An- 
tonio would  speak  of  his  approaching  end,  Simon  would 
weep  bitterly.  But  in  spite  of  all  care  on  the  part  of 
Simon  and  of  the  physician,  the  old  sailor  succumbed 
to  his  sickness,  and  breathed  out  his  soul  in  Simon's 
arms. 

This  was  an  overwhelming  loss  to  the  young  man, 
who  was  inconsolable.  He  lost  all  pleasure  in  his  sur- 
roundings, and  for  a  time  Don  Xaverio  actually  feared 
for  his  life.  He  attended  strictly  to  his  duty,  but  no  smile 
appeared  upon  his  face,  and  he  shunned  all  society, 
even  that  of  Ulpio  and  Don  Xaverio.  He  scarcely  ate 
enough  to  keep  body  and  soul  together,  wasted  away, 
and  sank  into  a  state  of  melancholy.  It  was  only  after 
the  worthy  clergyman  who  had  baptized  him,  had 
earnestly  spoken  to  him,  that  he  began  to  show  some 
improvement.  But  while  he  took  somewhat  more  in- 
terest in  his  surroundings,  his  earnest  and  serious  man- 
ner remained  the  same.  But  this  misfortune  was  not 
to  be  the  only  one  he  was  to  suffer. 

Don  Xaverio  was  nearly  eighty  years  old,  an  aged 
man  with  snowy,  white  hair,  and  bent  with  years.  His 
strength,  which  a  most  carefully  regulated  life,  had  long 
sustained,  now  began  to  fail  visibly.  One  morning  Ul- 
pio found  him  lying  dead  upon  his  couch,  his  hands 
folded,  and  his  glassy  eye  turned  heavenward.  He  had 
died  while  in  prayer. 


61 

If  the  death  of  Don  Xaverio  was  esteemed  a  great 
loss  by  all  the  citizens  of  the  city,  it  was  felt  the  more 
keenly  by  those  who  had  been  associated  with  him. 
Santa  Catharina  was  in  mourning,  and  only  now  it 
was  learned  how  the  man  had  used  his  great  wealth  to 
ease  suffering  and  want.  There  were  now  published 
deeds  of  kindness,  over  which,  upon  his  urgent  request, 
the  mantle  of  secrecy  had  rested.  His  name  was  upon 
everybody's  lips  and  his  loss  was  mourned  by  all,  but 
chiefly  by  the  poor  and  needy. 

His  palace  was  in  truth  become  a  house  of  mourn- 
ing, and  no  one  mourned  more  sincerely  than  Ulpio 
and  Simon. 

"What  shall  become  of  me  now?"  Simon  mourned 
one  day  as  he  sat  together  with  Ulpio. 

"You  can  earn  your  bread  easily,  for  Don  Xaverio 
has  had  you  well  educated/'  said  Ulpio.  "The  wise  and 
intelligent  need  not  starve." 

"But  am  I  free?"    sighed  Simon. 

"Do  not  worry,"  answered  Ulpio.  "I  have  seen 
your  letter  of  manumission.  It  is  in  the  desk  with  Don 
Xaverio's  testament." 

This  put  Simon  somewhat  at  ease.  But  everything 
lay  under  seal,  because  Don  Xaverio's  sole  heir,  who 
lived  in  Rio  grande  do  Sul,  was  hourly  expected. 


CHAPTER   VII. 

The  noble  Don  Xaverio  had  been  laid  to  rest  al- 
most a  week,  when  his  heir,  Don  Carlos  Valdes,  a  dis- 
tant, very  wealthy  relative  arrived.  He  was  no  Xave- 
rio. He  showed  himself  at  once  to  be  a  proud  and 
harsh  man.  He  treated  Ulpio,  and  Simon,  and  the  few 
servants  like  slaves  and  demanded  of  Simon  the  mean- 


62 

cst  services.  Ulpio  showed  his  letter  of  manumission 
and  declared,  although  most  respectfully,  that  he  would 
leave  the  house  at  once,  and  that  Simon  would  accom- 
pany him,  since  he  also  was  a  freedman.  Don  Carlos 
could  not  hinder  Ulpio,  but  Simon  could  not  show  his 
letter  of  manumission.  In  vain  did  Ulpio  insist  that  he 
had  been  freed,  in  vain  was  his  assurance  that  the  letter 
lay  with  the  testament,  even  describing  the  place  where 
it  could  be  found. 

Don  Carlos  drove  him  from  the  house,  and  because 
Simon  refused  to  perform  the  duties  of  a  slave,  he  had 
him  bound  by  his  own  slaves  who  accompanied  him,  and 
locked  up  in  a  cellar. 

Ulpio  hastened  to  the  judge  in  order  to  secure  the 
release  of  the  unfortunate  man.  The  judge  however, 
bribed  by  Don  Carlos,  refused  to  interfere,  because  no 
letter  of  manumission  could  be  produced.  In  vain  Ul- 
pio assured  him  that  the  letter  would  be  found  with  the 
testament ;  when  the  seal  was  broken  neither  the  letter 
of  manumission,  nor  the  testament  were  found.  And 
yet  Ulpio  had  seen  both  with  his  own  eyes. 

There  could  be  no  doubt,  in  fact  the  whole  populace 
was  convinced,  that  Don  Xaverio  had  secured  the 
future  of  his  favorite,  and  had  liberally  provided  for  all 
his  faithful  servants;  however,  the  testament  could  not 
be  found  anywhere,  and  Simon  was  a  slave.  A  dread- 
ful future  was  before  him,  since  Don  Carlos  hated  him 
bitterly. 

Ulpio  had  saved  up  a  small  fortune  for  himself 
during  his  years  of  service  with  Don  Xaverio.  The 
faithful  old  man  offered  the  highest  price  ever  paid  for 
a  slave,  if  Simon  were  set  free;  but  Don  Carlos  was 
his  owner  and  refused  to  accept  even  such  an  enticing 
offer.  Greed  and  the  filthy  love  of  money,  which  held 
the  mastery  over  Don  Carlos,  were  not  considered  now, 


63 

if  only  he  could  take  his  revenge  upon  the  slave  who 
had  refused  to  serve  him. 

How  great  his  greed  and  love  for  money  were, 
showed  itself  in  numberless  instances.  He  sold  the 
beautiful  residence,  the  gardens,  the  plantations  around 
Santa  Catharina,  the  furniture  and  implements,  and 
even  the  papers  which  appeared  worthless.  A  grocer 
purchased  these,  to  wrap  up  his  wares.  When  every- 
thing had  been  sold  and  Don  Carlos  left  the  city,  Simon, 
who  looked  like  a  skeleton,  was  taken  to  Rio  grande  do 
Sul,  where  Don  Carlos  lived  on  his  plantation. 

Ulpio,  who  had  taken  rooms  with  a  grocer  from 
whom  he  was  accustomed  to  purchase  his  necessities, 
tried  everything  to  save  Simon ;  but  all  his  efforts 
proved  unsuccessful.  His  enormous  wealth  was  like  a 
wall  of  fire  about  Don  Carlos,  so  that  it  seemed  impos- 
sible for  any  one  to  get  at  him,  and  mete  out  to  him 
deserved  punishment  for  his  crimes.  Ulpio  openly 
charged  Don  Carlos  with  having  removed  the  testa- 
ment as  well  as  Simon's  letter  of  manumission,  partly 
for  the  purpose  of  making  himself  the  sole  heir  to  the 
immense  wealth  of  Don  Xaverio,  and  partly  to  take 
vengeance  on  Simon,  who  had  refused  him  obedience, 
and  whose  intelligence  and  varied  knowledge  filled  him 
with  hatred. 

No  slave  owner  about  Rio  grande  do  Sul  had  such 
an  evil  reputation  as  Don  Carlos  Valdes.  As  great  as 
was  his  wealth,  so  great  was  his  miserliness  and  his 
greed,  and  his  passion  for  money  was  only  equaled  by 
his  harshness  and  his  cruelty  toward  his  slaves.  He  had 
in  his  employ  a  slave  keeper  who  had  been  a  bandit  and 
robber  in  Mexico,  and  who  had  lost  the  last  vestige  of 
feeling  in  the  service  of  a  man,  who  was  most  inhuman. 
Only  the  iron  hand  of  this  keeper  restrained  the  ne- 
groes. More  than  once  they  threatened  to  rise  like  the 
swollen  waters  of  a  stream  flooding  over  the  banks. 


64 

Perhaps  they  were  also  restrained  by  another  more 
gentle  person,  who  however,  also  suffered  keenly  under 
the  burden  of  Don  Carlos'  vile  character. 

As  if  the  Lord  had  intended  to  counterbalance  the 
merciless  harshness  of  the  man,  He  had  placed  at  his 
side  an  angel  in  human  form,  namely  his  wife,  Donna 
Elvira.  She  was  as  mild  and  gentle,  as  tender  and 
merciful,  as  any  human  soul  could  be.  She  repaired 
many  a  wrong  committed  by  her  husband,  healed 
wounds  which  he  had  inflicted,  and  thus  endeavored  to 
soften  the  curse  which  was  gathering  upon  his  head. 
Her  pious  soul  shrank  from  every  wrong,  from  every 
dishonest  deed,  and  from  every  brutality,  of  which  her 
degenerate  husband  bragged  even  before  her. 

When  he  returned  from  Santa  Catharina,  he  re- 
joiced over  the  immense  wealth,  whkh  was  added  to  his 
own  by  the  will  of  his  aged  relative. 

"It  might  have  been  fully  one  third  more,"  he 
cried,  "if  the  old  fool  had  not  been  in  the  habit  of  giving 
whole  handfuls  of  money  to  every  vagabond,  who  came 
along,  and  thus  squandered  much.  Just  think  of  his 
foolishness,  Elvira!  He  gave  freedom  to  all  his  slaves 
and  thus  reduced  his  possessions  perhaps  to  one  half. 
What  a  capital  was  lost !" 

"But  was  there  not  one  slave  whom  you  had  bound 
and  brought  here?"  she  asked.  "Did  he  not  liberate 
him?  What  crime  did  he  commit?" 

Don  Carlos  did  not  answer  this  question  until  he 
had  given  free  vent  to  his  anger  over  Don  Xaverio's 
foolishness,  in  having  been  the  benefactor  of  suffering 
humanity. 

"Just  think  of  it,"  he  continued  in  his  anger.  "There 
he  goes  and  makes  a  will  in  which  he  sets  aside  rich 
legacies  for  the  churches  of  Santa  Catharina.  As  if 
these  were  not  rich  enough  already!  Then  he  gives  a 
fortune  to  an  old  negro  named  Ulpio,  and  an  equal 


65 

sum  to  a  young  negro  whom  he  had  educated,  besides 
giving  him  his  freedom.  Finally  he  gives  large  bequests 
to  his  old  servants  so  that  they  could  have  lived  as 
lords.— In  short,  it  was  a  crazy  document,  which  ] 
therefore  threw  into  the  fire  and  burned,  so  as  not  to 
be  the  loser  myself  by  the  foolish  notions  of  a  childish 
old  man." 

Donna  Elvira  shuddered.  "You  did  that?'  she 
asked  with  such  an  expression  of  feeling,  that  the  cri- 
minal was  much  disturbed  thereby. 

"It  was  not  actually  I,  who  did  it,"  he  said  un- 
easily, for  he  became  conscious  of  his  depravity.  "It 
was  the  judge  whom  I,  gave  it  for  that  purpose,  and 
whose  trusty  services  I  had  secured  beforehand  with 

gold." 

Donna  Elvira  deeply  moved,  folded  her  hands  and 
looked  up  to  heaven.  Her  husband  did  as  if  he  did  not 
observe  her.  At  any  other  time  he  would  have  grown 

furious. 

The  suffering  woman  remained  silent,  because  she 
had  everything  to  fear  if  the  anger  of  this  wretch  were 
aroused,  for  then  he  knew  no  bounds. 

"But  how  could  you  bring  Simon  here  as  a  slave, 
if  he  was  freed.?"  she  asked  mournfully,  scarcely  able 
to  control  her  feelings. 

"Because  his  letter  of  manumission  lay  with  the 
testament,  and  he  did  not  have  it  in  his  hands,  like  old 
Ulpio.  Here  I  have  it  among  these  papers." 

He  drew  forth  a  bundle  of  papers  and  began  to 
glance  through  them.  But  he  became  very  much  dis- 
turbed during  the  search.  Once  more  he  glanced 
through  them— the  letter  of  manumission  could  not  be 
found.  For  some  time  he  sat  in  deep  thought.  What 
could  have  become  of  it?  The  missing  document  dis- 
turbed him  greatly.  But  after  some  thought  he  cried : 
"He  is  in  my  power."  Then  he  continued:  "You  ask, 

Simon.  5 


what  he  did?  He  is  a  negro  who  refused  to  render  me 
his  service  as  slave,  because  he  has  been  completely 
spoiled  by  a  foolish  old  man,  and  has  become  puffed  up 
and  selfwilled  in  his  pride."  He  gnashed  his  teeth  at 
the  very  memory.  "But  I  will  tame  him  yet !  I  have  put 
him  under  Pablo's  charge,  he  knows  how  to  make 
stubborn  dogs  docile.  I  think  I  will  go  out  and  see 
what  has  happened." 

He  went  out. 

Donna  Elvira  was  as  pale  as  a  corpse.  The  utter 
degeneration  of  her  husband  had  moved  her  deeply. 
Weeping  aloud  she  hastened  to  her  own  apartments. 
There  she  sank  down  upon  her  knees  and  poured  out 
her  heart  in  earnest  prayer. 

It  was  a  long  time  before  she  grew  calm  enough  to 
think  connectedly.  Then  she  wrote  a  long  letter  to  a 
relative,  who  was  a  priest  in  Santa  Catharina.  Under 
the  seal  of  confession  she  confided  to  him  all  her  hus- 
band had  told  her.  She  also  placed  at  his  disposal  a 
large  sum  of  money  with  which  to  obtain  possession 
of  the  stolen  testament  from  the  corrupt  judge,  if  it 
were  not  too  late.  She  urged  him  finally,  to  institute 
a  careful  search  for  Simon's  letter  of  manumission, 
which  might  possibly  be  found. 

When  Don  Carlos  entered  the  vestibule  he  found 
awaiting  him  there  a  man  dressed  in  the  airy,  light 
colored  garments,  which  the  intense  heat  of  that  cli- 
mate made  necessary.  In  his  hand  he  held  a  sombrero, 
or  broadbrimmed  straw  hat,  while  from  his  belt  there 
dangled  a  lash,  somewhat  like  the  one  called  "cat-o'- 
nine-tails"  on  board  the  ship.  In  stature  he  was  short 
and  thick  set,  and  his  face  bore  an  unmistakable  expres- 
sion of  treachery  and  villainy.  As  Don  Carlos  stepped 
out  of  his  door  he  bowed  almost  to  the  ground. 

"Pablo,"  cried  Don  Carlos,  "how  is  it  with  the 
slave?" 


67 

"I  have  given  him  a  reminder  which  he  will  keep 
as  long-  as  he  lives,"  said  the  overseer  with  a  cruel 
laugh. 

"And  how  did  he  take  it?"   asked  Carlos. 

"Patiently  and  quietly,"  was  the  reply. 

"Bah  \"  said  Don  Carlos.  "I  would  rather  the 
lashing  had  made  him  raving  mad." 

"I  did  what  I  could,  but  did  not  succeed  in  drawing 
from  him  so  much  as  a  murmur,"  answered  the  over- 
seer. "He  now  lies  in  his  hut  senseless  and  bleeding. 
If  he  were  to  die,  sir — " 

"You  but  did  your  duty.     It  would  not  matter." 
"Certainly!"  said  the  overseer;  but  it  has  aroused 

bad  blood  among  the  negroes." 

"What?"    yelled  Don  Carlos.     "The  dogs  dare  to 

bark  ?" 

"Not  that  exactly,"  replied  Pablo,  "but  I  would  not 
dare  to  do  that  sort  of  thing  before  their  eyes  again." 

"You?"  asked  Don  Carlos.  "Must  I  then  use  the 
lash?" 

Pablo  bowed  and  shrugged  his  shoulders.  "Four 
hundred  negroes  and  about  thirty  whites — Sir,  we  will 
have  to  be  more  careful." 

Don  Carlos  grew  pale  at  these  words.  He  was 
just  as  cowardly  as  he  was  cruel.  He  recognized  the 
danger.  "Let  him  heal  before  you  use  the  lash  on  him 
again.  Will  he  be  able  to  work  to-morrow?" 

"Not  for  a  week." 

"Then  you  struck  him  good  indeed.  Well,  let  us 
wait  our  chance.  He  will  not  fail  to  afford  you  an  oc- 
casion. If  he  dies,  well,  then  there  is  one  less  of  them, 
and — he  didn't  cost  me  anything!"  With  this  he  dis- 
missed the  overseer. 

Donna  Elvira,  whose  apartments  also  had  a  door 
leading  to  this  vestibule,  must  have  overheard  this  con- 


68 

versation,  for  when  her  husband  had  retired  to  rest.  ;i 
female  slave  hurried  below  to  find  out  the  hut  of  the 
poor  unfortunate,  and  when  the  darkness  of  the  night 
fell  and  quiet  reigned  over  the  plantation,  two  female 
figures  stealthily  left  the  palatial  residence  and  proceed- 
ed towards  the 'huts  of  the  slaves,  one  of  them  bearing 
a  basket. 

When  they  drew  near  to  Simon's  hut,  they  ob- 
served light  burning  within,  and  through  cracks  they 
saw  negroes    and    negresses    busied    about    the    un- 
fortunate man.    They  washed  out  his  wounds,  removed 
parts  of  flesh  which  hung  loose,  and  adjusted  bandages. 
They  whispered  among  themselves    and    above    their 
whis'pering  was  heard  the  groaning  of  the  sufferer. 
"He  lives,"  whispered  Elvira,  and  both  entered. 
As  the  door  opened,  the  negroes  who  were  doing 
Samaritan  duty,  were  seized  with  terror,  for  they  feared 
that  it  might  be  the  justly  dreaded  Pablo.     But  when 
they  beheld  their  mistress,  they   stretched    out    their 
hands  toward  her,  and  from  all  .sides  was  heard  the 
greeting  "Massa,  buona  massa,"  and  the  expression  of 
fear  on  their  faces,  gave  way  to  an  expression  of  grate- 
ful love.     She  brought  a  healing  balsam,  such  as  is 
made   in  Peru,  rags,  bandages,  and  refreshments  for 
poor  Simon.     Then  she  directed  the  bandaging  of  his 
lacerated  back,  had  stimulants  administered,  and  a  soft 
couch  prepared.     She  left  only  after  all  had  been  done 
as  she  directed,  and  the  benedictions  of  all  followed  her. 
The  overseer,  of  course,  found  out  everything,  but 
he  neither  dared  to  interfere,  nor  to  inform  his  cruel 
master.     Besides  he  saw  in  what  Donna  Elvira  did,  a 
means  to  allay  the  fury  of  the  negroes  directed  against 
him  and  the  master.     He  was  glad  of  this,  because  he 
saw  a  storm  brewing  in  consequence  of  the  cruel  treat- 
ment, which  threatened  death  and   destruction  to  all 
whites      He  knew  perfectly  well  that  Don  Carlos,  who 


69 

was  busy  with  his  newly  acquired  wealth,  would  not 
trouble  himself  in  the  least  about  the  negro,  and,  just 
as  he  gave  out  that  in  the  mericiless  lashing  of  Simon 
he  had  but  fulfilled  the  command  of  his  master,  so  now 
he  took  a  share  in  the  secret  work  of  love  and  mercy 
done  by  Donna  Elvira.  The  sly  scoundrel  did  this  be- 
cause, foreseeing  evil  to  come,  he  wished  to  turn  the 
storm  away  from  his  own  contemptible  person. 

Simon's  youthful  and  sturdy  constitution  success- 
fully overcame  the  fearful  pains  of  his  barbarous  abuse, 
under  which  a  less  powerful  constitution  must  inevitably 
have  succumbed.  He  bore  his  sufferings  with  wonder- 
ful patience,  and  was  hiost  thankful  toward  the  com- 
passionate negroes  for  their  kindness,  which  they  show- 
ed him  under  great  danger  to  themselves.  He  was  grate- 
ful especially  for  the  tender  care  of  his  mistress,  who 
came  to  him  every  night,  and  whose  sympathy  for  him 
increased,  the  more  she  learned  of  his  exceptional  cul- 
ture, and  his  sincere  Christian  spirit. 

Quite  a  number  of  days  passed  before  Simon  had 
so  far  recovered  from  his  wounds  as  to  be  able  to  get 
up  and  move  about. 

Pablo  out  of  consideration  for  Donna  Elvira,  spar- 
ed him  until  he  had  entirely  recovered,  but  then  he  had 
to  go  to  work  on  the  plantation  like  all  the  rest,  and 
when  his  strength  gave  out,  because  he  was  not  ac- 
customed to  such  hard  labor,  the  lash  was  laid  upon 
him,  and  Pablo  cursed  him  even  more  than  the  others, 
especially  if  he  discovered  Don  Carlos  anywhere  in  the 
neighborhood.  Don  Carlos  himself  allowed  no  oppor- 
tunity to  pass  without  humiliating  him,  and  tortured 
him  with  studied  cruelty.  The  negroes  however,  held 
Simon  in  greatest  honor  and  bowed  beneath  his 
superior  intelligence.  But  just  for  this  reason  every 
insult  offered  him,  every  punishment  and  abuse  inflicted 
upon  him,  excited  them  in  a  most  serious  manner.  The 


70 

secret  of  the  negroes  did.  not  long  remain  hidden  from 
the  shrewd  Pablo.  Their  hatred  grew  from  day  to  day 
under  their  harsh  treatment.  They  naturally  looked  to 
Simon,  whom  they  had  chosen  as  their  leader,  when 
their  determination  to  be  avenged  had  ripened. 

At  length  a  meeting  was  arranged  and  Simon  was 
invited  to  be  present.  It  was  to  be  held  at  night.  Not 
one  of  the  negroes  suspected  that  Pablo,  the  tricky 
Mexican,  had  full  knowledge  of  their  doings,  and  that  by 
creeping  close  to  them  with  the  stealthiness  of  a  cat,  he 
had  heard  them  make  their  plans. 

He  revealed  everything  to  his  master,  who  was 
thoroughly  frightened.  However,  Pablo  succeeded  in 
persuading  him  to  become  a  witness  of  the  meeting  by 
giving  him  the  assurance  that  his  hiding-place  would 
not  be  discovered. 

The  fiercest  and  most  embittered  negroes  had  met. 
Simon  also  was  among  them.  He  calmly  listened  to 
all  they  had  to  present,  to  the  story  of  their  wrongs  by 
which  they  had  been  inflamed  to  a  madness  as  blood- 
thirsty as  that  of  the  tiger,  a  madness  which  would  be 
satisfied  only  with  the  blood  of  their  tormentors.  When 
they  had  finished  Simon  arose  and  with  all  the  superiori- 
ty, which  his  education  and  his  noble  character  gave 
him,  he  spoke  to  them. 

He  most  earnestly  advised  against  all  violence.  It 
is  true,  he  spared  those  who  were  responsible  for  their 
unendurable  sufferings,  just  as  little  as  the  other  ne- 
groes. On  the  other  hand  he  refused  to  accept  the 
proffered  leadership,  and  would  have  nothing  to  do  with 
the  whole  movement.  Besides  he  reminded  them  of 
the  consequences,  for  the  master  would  certainly  ap- 
peal to  the  government  for  aid. 

The  negroes  were  dissatisfied  with  Simon,  and  re- 
fused to  give  up  their  plan.  They  also  determined  to 


71 

carry  it  out  at  the  earliest  possible  time.     Then  the 
meeting  dispersed. 

Don  Carlos  had  gazed  into  an  abyss  in  which  he 
must  be  destroyed,  perhaps  to-day,  perhaps  to-mor- 
row. Fear  on  the  one  side  and  uncontrollable  rage  on 
the  other,  unsettled  him  so,  that  he  could  formulate  no 
plan  of  action.  And  thus  it  came  that  he  put  himself 
under  the  influence  of  Pablo  by  seeking  his  advice.  The 
Mexican  was  very  nervous  himself,  because  the  negroes 
had  mentioned  his  name  with  the  same  bitterness  as 
that  of  his  employer.  He  advised  Don  Carlos  to  send 
for  troops  from  Rio  grande  do  Sul,  to  have  every  one 
of  the  ringleaders,  whose  meeting  they  had  spied  upon, 
seized  and  given  over  to  exemplary  punishment,  be- 
cause he  could  trust  them  no  longer  anyway. 

Without  arousing  suspicion  Don  Carlos  acted  upon 
this  suggestion.  To  him,  coward  that  he  was,  this 
seemed  the  only  way  in  which  he  could  save  his  life,  at 
the  same  time  it  gave  him  a  chance  to  get  revenge  be- 
cause of  the  things  which  he  had  heard  said  about 
himself. 

One  day  sixty  soldiers  unexpectedly  appeared  on 
the  plantation.  Mortal  terror  fell  upon  the  negroes, 
when  fifteen  of  their  number  were  taken  prisoners, 
locked  in  chains,  and  taken  to  Rio  grande  do  Sul.  After 
this  they  completely  subjected  themselves  under  the 
heavy  joke  which  was  put  upon  them. 

Among  those  fifteen  was  Simon,  even  though  he 
had  offered  only  good  advice.  Don  Carlos  only  regret- 
ted that  now  he  would  be  either  shot  or  hung,  and  that 
he  would  therefore  not  have  the  chance  of  seeing  him 
lashed  to  death  before  his  eyes.  But  he  could  not  deny 
himself  the  satisfaction  of  remaining  in  Rio  grande  do 
Sul  until  the  sentence  should  have  been  executed. 

This  affair  caused  intense  excitement.  As  usual, 
men  took  sides,  one  party  declaring  itself  against  Don 


72 

Carlos  most  forcibly.  Whole  Rio  grande  do  Sul,  indeed 
the  whole  province  was  aroused.  All  slave-owners  re- 
cognized the  inestimable  importance  of  the  verdict  to 
be  rendered  by  the  hastily  convened  court,  for  their 
safety,  their  very  existence  depended  upon  it.  When 
this  fact  was  considered,  and  when  the  natural  unfriend- 
liness of  the  whites  toward  the  blacks  was  taken  into 
account,  there  could  be  no  doubt  whatever  about  the 
verdict.  It  would  be  unfavorable  to  the  blacks. 

Don  Carlos  saw  this  turn  of  affairs  with  great 
satisfaction.  There  was  not  the  least  doubt  in  his  mind 
but  that  his  immense  wealth,  secretly  applied  by  the 
wily  Pablo,  would  convince  the  judges  of  his  perfect 
innocence.  Only  two  of  these  were  upright  men,  not  to 
be  bribed,  who  laid  great  weight  upon  the  testimony  of 
Simon,  whose  intelligence  and  refinement  deeply  im- 
pressed them.  They  were  not  at  all  inclined  to  believe 
that  Don  Carlos  Valdes  was  so  perfectly  blameless. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

But  before  the  court  in  Rio  grande  do  Sul  came 
to  a  decision,  indeed,  even  before  the  witnesses  had 
testified  in  the  matter,  circumstances  occured  in  Santa 
,Catharina,  which  lay  so  utterly  beyond  the  sphere  of 
human  calculation,  as  to  clearly  prove  the  influence  of 
a  supreme  will  upon  the  affairs  of  men. 

It  has  already  been  related  how  old,  faithful  Ulpio 
had  taken  a  room  with  a  groceryman,  where  he  spent 
the  days  of  his  age  in  peace  and  quiet,  and  without 
suffering  any  want.  The  old  negro,  who  had  nothing 
to  do  and  stood  in  the  very  best  relation  to  the  grocery- 
man, who  was  also  an  old  man  and  loved  to  talk,  used 


73 

to  spend  the  whole  day  sitting  in  the  little  grocery 
smoking,  and  chatting  with  the  proprietor,  or  his  cus- 
tomers. Sometimes  he  would  put  up  in  bags  the  gro- 
ceries which  had  been  purchased,  or  wrap  them  in 
paper  which  he  took  from  a  large  basket  in  which  a 
great  quantity  of  it  had  been  packed. 

One  day  while  he  was  again  thus  engaged  in  pas- 
sing his  time  with  his  slight  service  for  his  friend,  a 
paper  fell  into  his  hands  which  was  carefully  folded. 
He  opened  it  and  found  a  seal  attached  to  it.  He  had 
never  in  his  life  learned  to  read,  but  he  at  once  re- 
cognized the  seal  as  that  which  he  had  seen  hundreds 
of  times  in  the  house  bf  Don  Xaverio  Valdes,  the  old 
man  being  in  the  habit  of  placing  it  upon  all  letters  of 
importance. 

"'How  did  you  come  by  this  paper?"  he  asked  the 
groceryman.  "This  is  the  seal  of  my  never-to-be-for- 
gotten master,  Don  Xaverio  Valdes." 

"Are  you  surprised  at  that,  old  man?"  laughingly 
said  the  groceryman.  "Then  I  will  tell  you  that  all  the 
papers  in  that  basket  have  come  from  the  house  of  that 
excellent  man.  His  greedy  heir  whom  you  also  learned 
to  know  as  such,  wishing  to  derive  profit  out  of  every- 
thing, sold  me  four  such  baskets  full  of  paper  for  ten 
milreis,  and  I  thus  cheaply  purchased  wrapping  paper 
enough  for  years  to  come." 

"The  love  of  money  is  truly  the  root  of  all  evil," 
said  Ulpio. 

"Surely,"  replied  the  groceryman,  as  he  took  the 
paper  from  Ulpio's  hands  to  glance  at  its  contents, 
while  the  negro  absentmindedly  took  another  piece  of 
paper  from  the  basket  to  fold  into  a  bag. 

Ulpio  had  made  about  a  half  a  dozen  bags  before  his 
friend,  who  was  no  great  reader  himself,  having  put  on 
his  glasses,  had  studied  out  the  document. 

"Strange !"    he  cried.     "This  is  a  correct,  formal, 


74 

and  perfectly  legal  letter  of  manumission,  which  Don 
Xaverio  Valdes  issued  to  one  of  his  negroes." 

Ulpio  leaped  to  his  feet  with  an  alacrity  none  would 
have  expected  in  a  man  of  his  age,  and  seizing  the  arm 
of  the  groceryman,  excitedly  asked:  "What- is  the  name 
of  the  negro?" 

"Well,  well/'  remarked  the  groceryman  half  angri- 
ly, "the  matter  is  not  so  urgent  that  you  have  to  tear 
and  squeeze  a  fellow  black  and  blue!  A  person  would 
suppose  you  were  crazy !  Simon  is  the  name !" 

Ulpio  gave  a  cry  which  frightened  the  groceryman 
and  convinced  him  that  the  poor  old  negro  had  sudden- 
ly gone  mad.  But  when  he  turned  to  Ulpio  he  saw  him 
lying  on  his  knees,  his  hands  folded,  and  praying. 

The  groceryman  shook  his  head.  ''He  isn't  crazy," 
he  said  half  aloud,  "crazy  people  do  not  pray,  but  I 
cannot  understand  how  the  thing  is." 

When  Ulpio's  excitement  had  somewhat  subsided, 
and  he  reminded  the  old  man  of  the  negro,  who  had 
been  with  Don  Xaverio,  and  related  to  him  all  the 
circumstances  connected  with  the  disappearance  of  the 
testament  and  letter  of  manumission  as  he  knew  them 
and  believed  them,  a  light  began  to  dawn  upon  the 
groceryman,  and  he  began  to  understand  the  things, 
which  had  so  excited  Ulpio  that  he  had  actually  begun 
to  question  his  sanity. 

The  sense  of  right  and  justice,  which  the  holy  and 
just  God  has  implanted  in  the  conscience  of  every  man, 
revolted  at  the  thought  of  the  wrong  which  had  been 
committed,  and  the  groceryman  at  once  became  the 
ally  and  adviser  of  the  inexperienced  negro.  They  dis- 
cussed the  matter  from  all  sides  without  coming  to  any 
definite  conclusion,  because  neither  of  them  had  even 
the  slightest  confidence  in  the  judge. 

"Do  you  know  what  we'll  do?"  the  groceryman 
asked  and  then  answered  himself,  as  plain  people  are 


to 

wont  to  do,  whose  questions  seem  to  be  addressed  to 
another  why  really  directed  to  themselves,  "do  you 
know  what  we'll  do?  We'll  immediately  go  to  Don 
Vincente,  the  pastor  of  the  cathedral  Santa  Maria,  he 
is  a  very  smart  man  and  most  kind  and  friendly.  He 
will  give  us  advice." 

Ulpio  agreed  with  him,  and  after  the  groceryman 
had  given  his  store  into  the  charge  of  his  wife,  they 
set  out. 

Don  Vincente  Mollenghe  chanced  to  be  the  re- 
lative of  Donna  Elvira,  the  wife  of  Don  Carlos  Valdes, 
to  whom,  in  the  unrest  of  her  soul,  she  had  written  a 
letter  concerning  the  theft  of  the  testament  by  Don 
Carlos. 

Don  Vincente  despised  Don  Carlos  with  all  his 
heart,  because  he  knew  how  the  brutal  wretch  had  em- 
bittered the  life  of  his  noble  wife.  It  is  true,  he  had 
not  yet  known  him  as  a  cheat  and  a  thief,  as  this  letter 
charged  him  to  be.  But  he  could  not  doubt  the  revela- 
tions of  the  noble  lady,  and  was  thinking  of  a  plan  to 
follow  with  the  unscrupulous  judge. 

Vincente  was  not  a  friend  of  much  circumlocution. 
The  velvet  catspaw,  which  takes  hold  of  things  delicate- 
ly, slyly,  and  trickily,  was  detested  by  him,  his  nature 
being  rather  quick,  and  such  tricks  but  slowly  and 
through  devious  ways  lead  to  the  goal.  "The  straight 
road  is  the  best,"  he  used  to  say  to  himself,  "and  if  I 
but  firmly  seize  the  nail  with  my  tongs,  it  will  have  to 
come  out,  no  matter  how  deeply  it  is  driven  into  the 
wood." 

And  so  he  went  straight  to  the  judge,  and  proceed- 
ed directly  to  his  private  office,  making  use  of  a  privi- 
lege accorded  alone  to  the  priest.  The  judge  was  much 
disturbed  at  his  appearance,  because,  as  the  Bible  says, 
the  godless  never  have  peace,  and  an  evil  conscience 
always  expects  the  worst. 


76 

"What  do  you  want  of  me,  a  poor  sinner?"  he 
asked. 

"I  am  glad  to  find  you  in  such  a  penitent  mood," 
said  the  priest  with  great  earnestness,  ''for  what  I  seek 
requires  just  such  a  spirit." 

The  judge  grew  pale,  for  he  knew  that  Don  Vin- 
cente  was  one  of  those  who  do  not  come  to  a  matter 
from  a  long  round  about  way,  but  drove  directly  at  the 
centre  of  the  thing. 

"What  I  asked  in  pardonable  jest,  you  take  serious- 
ly," said  he. 

"One  does  not  jest  with  holy  things,"  answered 
Don  Vincente,  "and  I  should  think  that  you  would 
know  pretty  well  how  matters  stand  with  your  consci- 
ence. Rut  of  that,  later  on.  You  are  aware  that  I  am 
a  relative  of  Don  Carlos  Valdes,  and  the  confessor  of 
his  wife,  my  niece?" 

The  judge  nodded,  but  his  heart  beat  almost 
audibly. 

"You  committed  the  dastardly  deed  in  conjunction 
with  Don  Carlos,  of  stealing  the  will  of  Don  Xaverio 
Valdes,  and  you  know  that  this  would  cost  you  your 
office,  your  honor,  and  perhaps  your  life,  if  anyone  be- 
sides me  found  it  out.  Don  Carlos  has  confessed.  You 
still  have  the  will.  Give  it  to  me  at  once,  if  you  do  not 
wish  to  be  summoned  before  the  bar  of  justice.  If  you 
do  this  and  promise  sincere  repentance,  I  will  not  re- 
veal the  secret,  which  would  deliver  you  and  Don  Car- 
los over  to  well  deserved  punishment.  I  know  well  what 
I  owe  the  honor  of  my  family." 

These  words,  spoken  in  a  tone,  which  plainly 
showed  that  they  would  brook  no  resistance  and  denial, 
made  a  deep  impression  upon  the  judge. 

He  fell  upon  his  knees,  and  folding  his  hands, 
raised  them  to  Don  Vincente.  "Mercy,  mercy !"  he 
cried. 


77 

"It  shall  be  shown  you,"  said  the  priest,  "if  you 
have  not  burned  the  will.  But  if  it  is  burned,  let  justice 
take  its  awful  course,  and  then  may  two  criminals  suffer 
their  welldeserved  punishment." 

While  Vincente  thus  sharply  addressed  himself  to 
the  judge,  he  leaped  to  his  feet  as  if  bitten  by  a  serpent. 
He  hastened  to  a  closed  cabinet  and  opening  it,  pulled 
out  a  secret  drawer,  and  with  a  sigh  of  relief  he  said : 
"Here  it  is!"  as  he  handed  a  document  to  Father  Vin- 
cente. 

Vincente  quickly  glanced  through  the  document  in 
order  to  convince  himself  that  it  was  the  genuine,  un- 
altered will.  He  saw  from  the  handwriting  and  the  seal 
that  this  was  the  case,  but  he  also  learned  that  Don 
Carlos  Valdes  had  been  completely  disinherited.  The 
contemptible  wretch  had  told  Donna  Elvira  nothing  of 
this,  because  he  would  thereby  have  given  proof  that 
Don  Xaverio  also,  was  perfectly  aware  of  his  low  and 
vile  disposition. 

Don  Vincente  placed  it  in  his  pocket. 

''This  is  not  all,"  he  then  continued.  "Where  is  the 
letter  of  manumission  which  you  stole,  and  by  which 
Simon  was  given  his  freedom?  You  must  have  that 
also." 

"You  are  mistaken,  reverend  sir/'  cried  the  judge. 
"It  lay  with  the  testament,  it  is  true,  but  Don  Carlos 
was  afraid  to  burn  the  testament  of  the  deceased  and 
gave  it  to  me  for  this  purpose,  but  the  letter  of 
manumission  he  threw  into  a  basket  in  which  there 
were  other  letters  and  papers,  which  he  intended  to 
burn.  Whether  he  did  it  or  not,  I  cannot  say,  but  I  do 
not  doubt  it." 

"You  read  it?" 

"Yes." 

"Very  well,  then  you  are  a  witness.     But  beware 


78 

that  you  do  not  depart  one  jot  from  the  truth,  else— 
You  understand  me." 

\\  ith  this  the  priest  took  up  his  hat  and  went  out 
without  giving  any  further  attention  to  the  poor  wretch 
whom  he  left  behind  in  great  unrest  of  conscience. 

When  Don  Vincente  arrived  at  his  home,  he  found 
awaiting  him  a  messenger,  whom  Donna  Elvira  had 
sent  to  him  in  all  haste.  In  her  letter  she  related  the 
recent  occurences  and  the  imprisonment  of  Simon,  who 
had  advised  against  the  uprising  of  the  slaves,  but 
nevertheless  was  accused  by  Don  Carlos  as  having 
taken  part  in  the  conspiracy,  because  he  had  spoken  ill 
of  him.  "Unfortunately,"  wrote  Donna  Elvira,  "what 
vSimon  said  was  true."  She  requested  Don  Vincente  to 
hasten  his  investigations,  as  Simon's  letter  of  manumis- 
sion would  most  likely  also  be  found  with  the  judge. 

The  priest  clearly  saw  that  matters  were  quickly 
coming  to  a  head,  but  that  he  must  personally  go  to 
Rio  grande  do  Sul,  as  quickly  as  possible.  In  order  to 
prevent  the  worst  he  would  have  to  lay  the  will  before 
the  court,  in  which  a  considerable  legacy  was  set  aside 
for  "the  freedman  Simon."  This  was  a  proof  that  Si- 
mon was  free,  and  the  testimony  of  the  judge  would 
corroborate  the  statement.  And  then  let  the  sword  of 
justice,  which  hung  over  Don  Carlos,  fall  upon  his 
guilty  head. 

Don  Vincente  summoned  his  servant  and  ordered 
his  carriage,  giving  command  to  place  four  mules  be- 
fore it,  and  then  made  his  preparations  for  the  journey 
to  Rio  grande  do  Sul.  A  few  moments  later  he  was  in- 
formed that  a  white  man  and  a  negro  requested  to 
see  him  on  most  urgent  business. 

As  unwelcome  as  this  interruption  was,  because  it 
prevented  him  from  getting  off  on  his  hasty  journey, 
he  yet  knew  the  duties  of  his  holy  office  too  well,  to  re- 


79 

fuse  these  men  a  hearing.  They  were  admited.  The 
two  proved  to  be  the  groceryman  and  Ulpio. 

It  was  the  groceryman's  way  to  make  a  very  long 
story,  but  Don  Vincente  cut  him  short  by  asking  him 
such  pointed  questions,  that  the  old  man  was  compelled 
to  stick  to  the  facts.  And  so  he  told  of  Simon's  letter 
of  manumission,  which  Ulpio  had  found,  and  placed  it 
in  the  hand  of  the  astonished  priest. 

"Lord,  how  wonderful  are  Thy  ways,  and  Thy 
judgements  past  finding  out!"  he  cried,  as  he  held  in 
his  hand  the  letter  of  manumission,  whose  genuineness 
no  man  could  question. 

He  promised  the  two  to  use  the  letter  in  the  man- 
ner demanded  by  justice,  and  then  entered  his  carriage, 
and  quickly  drove  away. 

The  journey  was  completed  in  the  shortest  possible 
time,  and  the  priest  arrived  just  as  the  court  was  sitting 
and  taking  tesimony.  He  was  admitted  and  faced  Don 
Carlos,  Pablo,  and  the  crowd  of  accused  slaves. 

Don  Carlos  grew  pale,  as  he  saw  the  priest  enter. 
His  conscience  troubled  him,  and  his  fear  grew  so  great 
that  he  began  to  tremble,  and  had  to  support  himself  by 
holding  to  the  rail. 

The  president  of  the  court,  a  man  of  strict  prin- 
ciples, asked  the  priest  whether  he  had  revelations  to 
make,  which  had  bearing  upon  the  case. 

"Assuredly,"  answered  .the  priest,  "although  they 
refer  only  to  the  negro  Simon,  whom  this  man  (he 
pointed  to  Don  Carlos)  unjustly  treats  as  a  slave.  He 
was  given  his  freedom  by  Don  Xaverio  Valdes  and  is 
one  of  his  heirs.  I  know  how  brutally  Don  Carlos  has 
treated  him,  and  the  court  will  see  that  justice  is  done 
him  for  this.  In  this  matter  he  again  suffers  innocent- 
ly. Don  Carlos  treated  his  slaves  so  cruelly  that  an  up- 
rising was  planned.  Simon  pacified  the  slaves,  and  for 


80 

this,  this  freedman,  who  has  IHVII  illegally  held  as  a 
slave,  is  here  accused." 

The  judges  looked  at  one  another,  and  then  all  eyes 
were  turned  toward  Don  Carlos  against  whom  a  servant 
of  the  Church  and  near  relative,  directed  such  severe 
charges.  He  was  crushed,  yet  he  recovered  himself 
sufficiently  to  reply  to  the  question  of  the  judge, 
whether  he  had  anything  to  reply  to  these  charges,  and 
with  a  voice  trembling  with  emotion  he  cried :  "It  is  a 
lie,  that  Simon  is  free.  He  has  no  letter  of  manumis- 
sion. It  is  a  lie,  that  he  is  an  heir,  for  there  was  no 
testament  of  my  deceased  relative  to  be  found." 

"The  letter  of  manumission  lay  with  the  will  of 
Don  Xaverio  Valdes,"  replied  the  priest.  "Don  Carlos 
stole  both  documents.  I  accuse  him  of  it  in  this  court. 
He  was  careless  enough  to  throw  the  letter  of  manu- 
mission into  a  paper  basket,  whose  contents,  in  his 
well-known  filthy  greed,  he  sold  to  a  grocer  for  a  few 
milreis.  There  it  was  found  and  I  herewith  place  the 
original  document  in  the  hands  of  the  court.  Don  Car- 
los will  not  dare  to  question  the  genuineness  of  the 
original.  Should  he  nevertheless  do  so,  I  am  prepared 
to  complete  the  proof." 

The  president  of  the  court  took  the  document  and 
unfolded  it. 

"It  needs  no  further  proof/'  he  said.  "I  knew  Don 
Xaverio  intimately.  It  is  his  handwriting/' 

"Officers,"  he  called,  "remove  the  fetters  from  the 
freedman  Simon !" 

The  court  officers  hastened  to  obey  the  command. 

"This,"  the  priest  began  again,  "is  sufficient  to  dis- 
prove the  charge  of  lying  against  me.  I  reserve  the  right 
to  take  further  steps  in  the  matter  of  the  insult  offered 
me.  As  to  the  second  charge  that  it  is  false  that  Simon 
is  a  joint  heir,  I  herewith  offer  the  original  will  and 
testament  of  Don  Xaverio  Valdes,  which  Don  Carlos 


81 

also  stole,  but  was  too  cowardly  to  burn.  It  was  in- 
trusted to  my  care  under  the  seal  of  confession,  and  I 
now  request  the  court  to  prove  its  genuineness/' 

He  handed  it  to  the  president. 

This  was  too  much  for  the  wretch.  A  heavy  fall 
directed  all  eyes  towards  Don  Carlos.  He  had  fallen 
full  length,  and  Pablo,  and  Simon,  who  had  been  the 
first  to  hasten  to  him,  were  busy  with  him. 

Upon  order  of  the  president  of  the  court,  a  phy- 
sician was  summoned,  and  the  proceedings  were 
stopped  until  his  arrival,  v  All  surrounded  Don  Carlos, 
while  Simon  with  great  care  endeavored  to  resuscitate 
him. 

The  features  of  Don  Carlos  in  spite  of  all  efforts, 
became  more  and  more  like  those  of  a  dead  man.  When 
the  physician  arrived  he  cast  one  glance  upon  the  pro- 
strate form  and  said:  "It  is  too  late.  He  is  dead." 

Still  he  did  his  duty,  and  with  Simon's  assistance 
he  bled  him,  but  in  vain.  Death  had  removed  the  cri- 
minal beyond  the  reach  of  earthly  justice,  but  had 
placed  him  before  his  eternal  judge. 

"God  have  mercy  upon  his  soul/'  said  the  priest. 
"The  trial  is  now  closed.  In  the  name  of  my  relative, 
Donna  Elvira  Valdes,  I  request  the  court  to  dismiss 
the  charges,  and  release  the  prisoners,  who,  henceforth 
serving  a  gentle  mistress,  will  no  longer  entertain  the 
thought  of  conspiracy." 

The  prisoners  broke  out  in  cries  of  joy  and  blessed 
the  priest  and  their  beloved  mistress. 

"There  will  be  no  need  at  all  to  consider  the  ad- 
visability of  bringing  any  influence  to  bear  upon  Donna 
Elvira  to  carry  out  the  provisions  of  the  testament," 
said  the  priest,  "since  she  is  the  cause  of  its  finding 
and  recovery.  She  does  not  countenance  wrong  and 
will  hold  no  property  obtained  in  a  wrong  manner.  Yet, 

Simon.  6 


I  would  request  tin-  court  to  ki-cp  the  original  will  and 
send  me  a  copy  to  the  plantation  of  Donna  Elvira, 
where  I  am  now  going  with  Simon.  I  herewith  solemnly 
pledge  myself  to  carefully  watch  over  the  prompt  and 
complete  carrying  out  of  its  provisions." 

Simon  cheerfully  agreed,  and  after  the  corpse  had 
been  removed,  the  session  of  the  court  adjourned.  Si- 
mon entered  the  carriage  with  the  priest  and  on  the  way 
learned  how  his  letter  of  manumission  had  been  found 
by  Ulpio  and  the  groceryman,  and  with  tears  streaming 
down  his  face,  praised  gratefully  the  wonderful  ways 
of  the  Lord. 

Excepting  the  negroes  who  cast  upon  him  glances 
full  of  rage  and  vengeance,  no  man  had  troubled  him- 
self about  the  overseer  Pablo.  He  was  completely  un- 
done by  the  blow  which  had  fallen  upon  his  master.  He 
did  not  dare  to  leave  until  the  court  officers  told  him 
that  he  had  ho  further  business  in  court.  Then  he  slunk 
away,  but  begged  an  officer  to  show  him  another  way 
out,  as  he  was  afraid  to  leave  by  the  door  through  which 
the  negroes  had  left.  The  officers  fulfilled  his  wish,  and 
he  disappeared  in  the  narrow  streets  of  the  city,  and 
no  man  saw  in  which  direction  he  turned.  He  did  not 
again  appear  upon  the  plantation,  and  it  was  well  for 
him  that  he  did  not,  for  the  hatred  of  the  negroes,  on 
account  of  the  inhuman  treatment  they  had  received  at 
his  hands,  would  have  endangered  his  life.  No  one 
ever  found  out  what  had  become  of  him.  Very  likely 
he  returned  to  Mexico  and  again  became  a  highway- 
man. But  the  arm  of  Him  who  judges  aright,  is  not 
shortened,  and  He  will  surely  have  found  him  and 
given  him  his  dues. 


83 


CHAPTER    IX. 

We  pass  over  the  next  few  years.  Donna  Elvira 
ruled  over  her  plantation  in  such  mildness,  that  the 
negroes  who  had  planned  murder,  because  they  had 
been  treated  worse  than  beasts,  never  again  had  cause 
for  complaint,  and  were  devoted  to  their  mistress  with 
heart  and  soul. 

The  provisions  of  the  will  of  Don  Xaverio  were  all 
promptly  carried  out.  Simon  and  Ulpio  were  both  re- 
membered so  liberally,  that  they  could  live  without 
care,  and  even  had  something  to  spare.  The  judge  re- 
signed his  office  and  removed  to  a  distant  state  in  order 
to  hide  his  shame,  which  became  public  because  every- 
one knew  that  only  he  and  Don  Carlos  had  anything  to 
do  with  Don  Xaverio's  effects. 

For  some  time  Simon  lived  on  the  plantation  of 
Donna  Elvira,  because  she  had  urged  him  to  remain 
and  enjoy  something  of  the  good  things  of  life,  where 
he  had  suffered  so  much  pain  and  sorrow.  His  wis- 
dom and  experience  were  of  great  service  to  Donna 
Elvira  in  the  introduction  of  certain  reforms.  Her  ul- 
timate purpose  was  to  give  freedom  to  all  her  slaves. 
He  was  not  in  favor  of  giving  them  their  freedom  at 
once,  but  by  the  concession  of  larger  privileges,  to 
gradually  fit  them  for  the  proper  use  of  liberty  and  in- 
dependence, Donna  Elvira  and  the  venerable  priest  fully 
agreed  with  him,  and  Donna  Elvira  secured  the  carry- 
ing out  of  her  plans  in  a  legal  manner,  so  that,  in  case 
it  should  please  God  to  call  her  away,  her  heirs  could 
in  no  wise  interfere.  She  had  such  a  terrible  example 
offered  her  in  the  ruthless  acts  of  Don  Carlos,  that  she 
removed  every  hindrance  to  the  execution  of  her  gene- 


84 

rous  ideas,  as  far  as  it  was  possible  for  a  human  being 
so  to  do. 

It  is  very  likely  that  Simon  would  never  have  left 
her  (for  where  could  he  be  more  happy  than  among 
those  who  honored,  and  loved  him,  and  opened  for  him 
a  larger  sphere  of  activity?)  had  not  his  noble  heart 
compelled  him  to  go  to  Santa  Catharina. 

Ulpio,  the  noble  soul,  had  grown  very  old  and 
feeble.  The  old  man  bore  his  sufferings  with  a  perfect 
submission  to  the  divine  will.  But  he  had  no  one  in 
the  wide  world  to  whom  he  was  bound  by  affection,  ex- 
cept Simon,  whom  he  loved  as  a  son.  An  unspeakable 
longing  for  him  filled  his  heart,  and  so  Simon  left  his 
happy  surroundings  and  went  to  him,  in  order  to  make 
the  last  days  of  the  old  man  as  bright  as  possible.  Ul- 
pio had  bought  himself  a  small,  comfortable  home, 
located  on  the  Alameda,  near  the  place  where  he  had 
spent  so  many  years  with  his  deceased  master.  Here 
Simon  joined  him. 

They  lived  together  like  father  and  son,  and  used 
whatever  could  be  spared  of  their  income,  to  purchase 
the  freedom  of  such  negroes  who  bore  a  good  report, 
and  gave  assistance  to  the  needy  wherever  and  when- 
ever they  could.  They  both  thought  that  in  this  they 
were  acting  in  the  spirit  of  their  noble  benefactor,  and 
were  putting  to  a  good  use  what  his  liberality  had  given 
them. 

For  a  number  of  years  Ulpio  was  permitted  to  en- 
joy the  faithful  attention  and  love  of  Simon,  who  de- 
voted himself  entirely  to  the  old  man,  whose  days  were 
numbered.  Although  they  were  honored  and  respected 
by  the  whole  city,  yet  they  had  very  little  intercourse. 
The  only  one  who  often  came  to  them,  who  had  no 
prejudice  whatever,  such  as  is  almost  always  found  with 
the  whites  against  the  blacks,  was  the  venerable  priest, 
who  had  secured  Simon's  freedom.  He  best  understood 


these   two   noble   souls.      In   former   years   the   honest 

groceryman  used  to  come  around  every  evening,  but 

death  had  long  since  called  him  away,  and  it  was  at 

that  time,  so  sad  for  Ulpio,  that  Simon  had  come  to  him. 

Even  though   the   strong   constitution   of  the   old 

negro,  long  resisted  the  weight  of  age  and  its  weakness, 

yet  at  last  it  began  to  succumb.     The  lamp  began  to 

burn  low.     He  did  not  deceive  himself  with  respect  to 

his     condition,    and    with     true     Christian     submission 

awaited  the  hour  when  he  should  be  called  to  the  glory 

and  joy  of  his  Lord.  vHe  frequently  said  to   Simon: 

"Although   I  am  pained  at  the  thought  of  separating 

from  you,  yet  I  constantly  recall  the  words  of  our  Lord, 

which  the  venerable  priest  gave  me  as  comfort :    "Yet 

a  little  and  we  shall  see  each  other  again,  and  then  no 

man  can  take  our  joy  from  us.   And  besides,  I  feel  as  if 

Don  Xaverio  were  awaiting  us  up  there  with  the  Lord." 

Faithful  Simon  would  not  leave  him  day  or  night, 

and  at  last  when  the  spirit  had  left  the  body,  he  closed 

the  eyes,  whose  last  gaze  seemed  to  search  the  depths 

of  heaven. 

Ulpio  had  left  everything  he  possessed  to  Simon, 
whereby  he  became  indeed  a  wealthy  man,  but  he  only 
found  pleasure  in  his  wealth  in  so  far  as  it  placed  him 
in  a  position  to  do  more  good.  His  life  was  now  become 
very  lonely.  Upon  the  urgent  request  of  Donna  Elvira, 
he  sold  his  house,  and  again  took  up  his  residence  on 
the  plantation,  where  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing 
the  fruits  of  his  wise  suggestions  beautifully  ripening, 
and  where  he  was  revered  by  all  negroes,  as  much  as 
their  mistress.  He  spent  some  years  in  these  happy 
surroundings,  when  another  heavy  blow  fell  upon  him, 
which  he  saw  slowly  but  surely  coming,  namely  the 
death  of  Donna  Elvira. 

Sufferings,  which    had    been    caused   by   the   ex- 
periences of  her  earlier  life,  and  which  she  had  been  com- 


86 

pelled  to  keep  to  herself  in  order  not  to  increase  their 
measure,  had  sown  the  seeds  of  an  illness,  which  was 
now  slowly,  but  only  too  steadily  developing.  She  only 
desired  to  live  long  enough  to  see  all  the  negroes  of 
her  plantation  freed,  and  living  on  the  parcels  of  ground 
she  had  set  aside  for  them,  and  which  were  large  enough 
that  their  products  secured  them  a  comfortable  living, 
if  they  were  at  all  industrious.  And  it  was  granted  her 
to  see  it.  She  had  no  children  and  her  relatives  had  no 
need  of  her  wealth.  For  this  reason  she  had  divided 
the.  whole  plantation  into  smaller  parcels,  and  given 
these  to  her  former  slaves.  They  now  lived  upon  free 
property  as  free  beings,  and  with  their  families  blessed 
their  generous  mistress. 

Her  death  was  a  heavy  sorrow  for  these  happy  be- 
ings, who  had  to  thank  her  for  their  happiness.  They 
mourned  sincerely,  as  when  children  mourn  a  mother, 
who  has  been  taken  from  them. 

For  Simon  this  place  had  now  become  like  a  de- 
serted house,  even  though  the  negroes  loved  him  dearly, 
for  well  they  knew  what  they  owed  him.  She  was  mis- 
sing, whose  spirit  had  reigned  here,  and  whom  he  had 
loved  and  respected  as  she  well  deserved.  He  left  the 
plantation  toward  the  close  of  the  year  1852,  all  the 
negroes,  whose  moral  elevation  had  been  so  largely  his 
work,  bidding  him  a  tearful  farewell. 

He  had  not  definitely  decided  where  to  take  up  his 
permanent  residence  in  order  to  spend  there  the  days 
which  God  should  still  give  him,  but  when  he  thought 
at  all  about  the  matter,  Santa  Catharina  ever  had  the 
preference  because  of  its  memories  of  Antonio,  Don 
Xaverio,  and  Ulpio,  and  especially  because  the  worthy 
priest  still  lived  there,  to  whom  he  was  so  much  in- 
debted. Simon  was  about  forty  years  of  age  when  he 
planned  going  by  sea  from  Rio  grande  do  Sul  to  Rio 


87 

de  Janeiro,  where  he  had  never  been.     From  there  he 
intended  to  return  to  Santa  Catharina. 

But  here  also  the  truth  of  the  old  proverb  was 
shown :  "Man  proposes,  but  God  disposes." 

His  affairs  were  always  kept  in  order,  as  had  been 
his  rule  ever  since  he  had  assisted  Don  Xaverio  in  the 
regulation  of  his  affairs.  Even  his  will  had  been  care- 
fully drawn,  in  order  that  his  charitable  intentions 
would  surely  be  carried  out.  And  so  there  was  nothing 
to  prevent  him  from  entering  upon  his  journey,  the  first 
trip  for  pleasure  andvrecreation  he  had  ever  allowed 
himself. 

A  steamer,  which  made  regular  trips  to  the  capital, 
was  just  about  to  sail.  The  negro  went  aboard,  but 
knowing  well  the  prejudice  of  Americans  against  his 
race,  he  quietly  seated  himself  where  he  would  not  be 
conspicuous  nor  give  anyone  cause  for  offense.  He 
took  a  book  from  his  pocket  and  began  to  read,  now 
and  then  glancing  up  at  the  beautiful  scenery  along  the 
shore. 

The  "Pernambucano,"  as  the  vessel  was  called,  was 
a  coastwise  steamer,  and  upon  this  trip  had  an  especially 
large  number  of  passengers,  mostly  women  and  chil- 
dren. The  weather  had  been  beautiful  in  the  morning, 
but  soon  a  dark  cloud  in  the  western  skies,  so  small  as 
to  be  unnoticed  by  most  of  the  passengers,  began  to 
give  serious  concern  to  those  familiar  with  such  signs. 
Xothing  can  compare  with  the  fury  of  suddenly  arising 
hurricanes.  And  such  a  storm  it  was  that  broke  upon 
the  vessel  with  inconceivable  speed  and  power,  but  a 
few  minutes  after  the  eye  had  first  observed  the  cloud. 

The  "Pernambucano"  was  a  well  built  vessel  and 
manned  by  an  excellent  crew.  They  tried  to  gain 
deeper  water,  but  the  storm,  seeming  to  come  from  all 
points  of  the  compass  at  once,  ever  drove  them  toward 


88 

the  steep  and  rocky  shore  with  the  enormous  waves 
which  rolled  landward. 

The  breakers  near  the  rocky  shore  were  awful, 
while  immense  waves  were  being  hurled  against  the 
rock  by  the  fury  of  the  storm.  Even  though  it  was 
noon,  it  grew  as  dark  as  at  the  time  of  twilight.  The 
fearful  gusts  of  wind  threw  great  bales  of  merchandise 
overboard  like  paper  balls.  Several  passengers  also 
were  swept  overboard  and  drowned. 

In  spite  of  the  most  powerful  struggles,  the  "Per- 
nambucano"  was  slowly  but  irrestibly  swept  towards 
the  roaring,  foaming  breakers.  Finally  one  mighty 
blast  of  the  hurricane  lifted  the  vessel  as  if  it  had  been 
a  nutshell,  and  hurled  it  puon  the  rocky  ledge  where  it 
hung,  while  the  water  flooded  into  the  ship  through  a 
large  hole  which  had  been  made,  so  quickly,  that  the 
passengers  who  had  sought  shelter  in  their  cabins,  had 
scarcely  time  to  escape  to  the  deck. 

Those  who  could  swim  cast  themselves  into  the 
sea,  but  when  these  unfortunates  reached  the  shore,  the 
natives  fell  upon  them  and  robbed  them  of  everything, 
leaving  them  scarcely  the  most  necessary  clothing.  Yet 
every  one  sought  to  save  his  life,  for  the  waves  were 
beating  against  the  wreck  with  a  sound  like  thunder,  so 
that  it  became  evident  that  it  could  not  long  withstand. 
It  must  soon  go  to  pieces.  What  a  prospect  for  those 
who  could  not  swim ! 

The  terror  of  the  women  and  children  was  fright- 
ful to  behold.  Besides  the  crew  there  were  only  a  few 
men  left  on  board.  And  what  could  be  done?  The  space 
between  the  ship  and  the  shore  was  so  small,  and  the 
fury  of  the  breakers  so  great,  that  they  could  not  think 
for  a  moment  of  lowering  the  boats,  and  yet  it  was  far 
too  wide  to  be  leaped  over. 

Up  to  this  time  Simon  seemed  to  look  upon  all  this 
with  perfect  composure.  But  in  his  heart  he  despised 


89 

the  selfishness  of  the  white  men  who  sprang  into  the  sea 
to  save  themselves  by  swimming,  without  giving  a 
thought  to  the  weeping  women  and  children,  already 
half  dead  through  fright,  whom  they  heartlessly  left  to 
their  fate.  With  clear  judgment  he  viewed  the  condi- 
tion of  things,  then,  unobserved  by  anyone,  he  folded 
his  hands  and  prayed:  "Help  us,  O  Lord  our  God;  for 
we  rest  on  Thee." 

After  this  he  seized  a  rope,  and  exerting  all  his 
strength  he  threw  it  to  the  shore,  where  the  natives 
caught  it  and  made  i^  fast  to  a  strong  tree  standing 
near  the  edge  of  the  raging  sea.  And  now  the  time  was 
come  to  give  full  satisfaction  to  his  noble  heart. 

On  board  there  was  a  lady  with  seven  hopeful 
children.  The  children  had  made  themselves  acquainted 
with  Simon,  and  his  friendly  manner  had  won  their  con- 
fidence. He  told  them  pretty  fables  and  soon  had  them 
all  gathered  about  him.  Who  does  not  know  that  he 
who  wins  the  heart  of  the  child  also  wins  the  heart  of 
the  mother?  She  was  a  lady  of  distinction,  the  wife  of 
one  of  the  richest  merchants  of  Rio  de  Janeiro. 

As  the  danger  increased,  the  mother  began  to 
worry  for  the  safety  of  her  children,  and  when  the  dis- 
aster occured,  she  piteously  moaned:  "Who  will  save 
my  children  and  me?" 

Simon  now  approached.  "Donna,"  said  he,  "if  God 
will  grant  us  grace,  I  will  save  both  you  and  your  chil- 
dren. But  you  must  do  absolutely  what  you"  are  told, 
and  pray  that  the  Lord  may  bless  me." 

"Come  here!"  he  called  to  the  sailors,  who  cheer- 
fully hastened  to  him.  "Ropes!"  he  cried,  "quick, 
bring  ropes !" 

They  were  brought. 

'Now  tie  four  of  these  children  to  my  body,  but  tie 
them  firmly,  so  they  can  not  slip  off." 

This  was  done    as    quickly  as  possible,  and  then 


90 

seizing  die  rope  he  swung  clear  oi  the  vessel,  and  pas- 
sing one  hand  over  the  other,  gained  the  shore  in  a  few 
minutes,  and  the  children  were  saved.  The  mother 
meanwhile  lay  upon  her  knees  on  the  deck,  and  prayed 
for  protection  and  help  for  Simon.  Quicker  than  he  had 
crossed  over,  the  negro  regained  the  vessel.  The  three 
remaining  children  and  one  of  another  mother  were 
tied  to  him,  and  he  safely  brought  them  to  land.  Now 
came  the  mother's  turn.  She  was  also  tied  to  Simon  s 
body  and  he  safely  brought  her  over. 

The  exertion  was  terrible,  but  no  one  assisted  him, 
no  one  followed  his  example.  In  vain  he  appealed  to 
the  crew  to  help  him.  They  gave  him  some  refresh- 
ments and  after  he  had  bound  up  his  hands  so  that  they 
should  not  hurt  so  much,  having  taken  a  brief  rest,  he 
again  returned  to  the  work.  He  took  the  children  first 
of  all ;  but  in  crossing  for  the  seventh  time  in  his  weary- 
ing work  of  rescue,  the  rope  broke  in  two  and  together 
with  his  burden  he  fell  into  the  sea.  But  admiration  of 
his  heroic  courage  had  filled  even  the  rude  natives. 
They  hastened  to  his  assistance,  and  brought  him  and 
his  precious  burden  safely  to  shore. 

But  what  was  to  be  done?  Over  there  they  were 
stretching  out  their  arms  toward  him  in  piteous  ap- 
peal, and  his  heart  beat  with  happiness  over  the  suc- 
cessful efforts  he  had  made.  Without  much  delay  he- 
sprang  into  the  sea.  The  sailors  slackened  the  rope  on 
the  ship  and  he  succeeded  in  tieing  the  ends  together. 

God's  grace  was  with  him.  The  ship  withstood 
the  severe  blows  of  the  surf  much  longer  than  he  had 
expected  or  could  have  hoped  for.  The  hand  of  God 
was  visibly  over  him.  In  a  few  hours  he  succeeded  in 
rescuing  all  the  women  and  children.  But  his  strength 
was  almost  completely  exhausted  and  his  hands  were 
bleeding.  There  remained  on  board  the  wreck  a  blind 
man  and  an  invalid  with  a  wooden  leg.  They  stood  there 


91 

with  folded  hands,  trembling  with  fear.  No  man 
seemed  to  think  of  these  two  unfortunates.  As  soon 
as  Simon  had  somewhat  recovered  from  his  super- 
human efforts,  he  saw  them  and  quickly  coming  to  a 
decision  as  to  his  duty,  he  again  made  the  trip  over  the 
rope.  First  he  rescued  the  old  blind  man  and  then  with 
his  last  strength,  the  invalid.  But  as  he  reached  the 
shore,  he  fell  lifeless  to  the  ground. 

But  now  gratitude  had  its  turn.  The  women, 
whom  he  had  rescued,  the  men,  who  had  witnessed  a 
rare  deed  of  Christian  heroism,  vied  with  each  other 
to  show  him  attention.  The  mother  of  the  seven  chil- 
dren bedded  his  head  in  her  lap,  and  as  she  bathed  his 
face,  and  tried  to  pour  reviving  stimulants  into  his 
mouth,  the  tears  streamed  from  her  eyes  and  fell  upon 
his  face.  Others  knelt  about  him  helping,  sobbing, 
praying.  They  bandaged  his  swollen  and  bleeding 
hands  and  arms.  They  did  everything  possible  at  the 
time  and  under  the  circumstances. 

vSixty  person*  had  been  rescued  by  Simon.  Many 
had  succeeded  in  reaching  the  shore  by  swimming, 
while  thirty,  who  had  leaped  into  the  sea,  were  drowned. 

The  hurricane  continued  until  midnight  with 
gradually  abating  fury,  and  then  ceased.  The  rising 
sun  of  the  following  morning,  shone  upon  a  sea  only 
slightly  disturbed.  Upon  all  points  of  elevation  the 
captain  and  crew  had  built  signal  fires,  in  the  hope  that 
some  vessel  sailing  by,  would  take  off  the  shipwrecked 
band,  who  had  to  spend  a  miserable  night  on  the  in- 
hospitable shore,  without  cover  or  sufficient  clothing. 
While  Santa  Catharina  was  the  nearest  port  and  not 
very  far  distant,  yet  it  was  too  far  away  to  expect  any 
help  from  there,  and  the  unfortunates  had  to  endure 
hunger  and  cold  until  taken  off.  The  example  of  noble 
Don  Xaverio  Valdes  did  not  seem  to  find  any  imitators 
there. 


92 

Simon  at  last  awoke  out  of  his  deep  swoon,  but 
suffered  intensely.  Whatever  was  possible  was  done  to 
alleviate  his  pains,  but  they  had  a  very  limited  success. 
The  fever  caused  by  the  wounds  in  his  hands,  shook  him 
severely.  The  muscles  were  actually  laid  bare.  He 
talked  incoherently  and  they  beg-an  to  fear  that  he 
would  succumb  to  his  sufferings.  The  longing  after  a 
rescuing  vessel  increased  under  the  general  sympathy 
with  the  noble  negro,  whose  condition  every  one  en- 
deavored to  ease. 

At  last,  on  the  afternoon  of  that  day,  they  saw  the. 
steamer  from  Rio  de  Janeiro  for  Rio  grande  do  Sul 
approaching.  The  captain  saw  the  signals  of  distress 
and  turned  his  vessel  toward  the  shore,  where  he  cast 
anchor  in  a  safe  place,  and  sent  a  boat  to  ascertain  the 
condition  of  things. 

Scarcely  had  the  boat  returned  with  its  report  of 
the  disaster,  when  every  boat  on  the  steamer  was 
lowered.  Great  was  the  joy  filling  all  hearts  as  the 
boats  landed.  But  no  one  would  enter  until  Simon  had 
been  carried  in,  the  men  and  women  making  a  soft 
couch  for  him  with  spare  articles  of  clothing.  He  was 
most  carefully  taken  on  board,  and  accompanied  by  the 
captain  of  the  "Pernambucano"  and  the  wife  of  the 
merchant  of  Rio  de  Janeiro,  laid  in  a  soft  berth.  For- 
tunately there  was  a  doctor  from  Rio  de  Janeiro  on 
board,  who  applied  proper  bandages  and  gave  him 
medicines.  Under  his  care  the  sufferer  soon  revived 
so  as  to  be  able  to  thank  for  all  the  tender  attentions 
showered  upon  him.  His  heroic  deed  being  related  to 
the  passengers  on  board,  they  also  joined  in  caring 
for  him. 

After  all  the  rescued  had  been  taken  aboard,  the 
anchor  was  drawn  up,  and  the  vessel  changing  her 
course,  proceeded  to  Rio  de  Janeiro. 


93 


CHAPTER   X. 

With  lightning  speed  the  news  was  spread  through- 
out Rio  de  Janeiro,  that  the  "Pernambucano"  had  been 
wrecked  and  gone  down.  All  who  had  relatives  on 
board  the  ill-fated  ship  hastened  to  the  harbor  and  on 
board  the  vessel  bringing  them.  Some  were  filled  with 
bitter  sorrow  and  others  with  the  greatest  joy.  With 
weeping  eyes  they,  who  became  convinced  that  their 
dear  ones  had  been  lost,  left  the  ship.  Full  of  unspeak- 
able joy  they,  who  found  their  dear  ones  safe,  accom- 
panied them  home.  The  whole  city  was  gathered  at  the 
harbor.  From  mouth  to  mouth  went  the  story  of  the 
heroism  of  the  negro,  whose  noble  deeds  were  loudly 
praised.  Everybody  was  anxious  to  see  him.  The 
physician  wished  to  remove  him  to  the  hospital,  but 
the  wealthy  merchant,  whose  wife  and  seven  children 
he  had  saved,  would  not  permit  it. 

"My  house  is  the  place  where  the  noble  rescuer  of 
my  family  and  so  many  others  shall  be  cared  for,"  he 
declared  positively.  He  had  a  stretcher  brought  and 
commanded  to  carry  him  to  his  residence.  The  people 
who  accompanied  him  did  not  cease  in  their  demon- 
strations, in  order  to  show  him  their  regard,  and  con- 
tinued to  loudly  praise  his  deed.  The  physician  also 
went  along  because  he  feared  that  the  excitement 
caused  by  the  demonstration  of  the  people  might  have 
a  bad  effect  upon  Simon's  condition. 

But  this  proved  an  unnecessary  care.  Simon  was 
indeed  pleased  with  this  recognition  of  his  deed,  but 
it  had  no  evil  effect  upon  him.  The  tender  affection 
showered  upon  him  in  the  home  of  his  host  was  in- 
describable. But  he  received  all  with  great  humility. 

In  every  home  of  the  city  men  were  speaking  of 


94 

the  noble  negro,  and  they  who  had  been  saved  by  him 
kept  visiting  him,  and  not  only  they  came  to  him,  but 
the  most  distinguished  citizens  called  to  see  him.  His 
remarkable  deed  had  wiped  out  the  prejudices,  which 
the  color  of  the  skin  ordinarily  creates. 

When  the  merchant,  who  was  entertaining  the  res- 
cuer of  his  family,  went  to  the  exchange  next  day,  he 
found  great  excitement  there.  All  crowded  around 
him  in  their  eagerness  to  hear  an  authentic  account  of 
the  happenings  from  his  lips.  He  cheerfully  told  them 
the  story  as  he  had  heard  it  from  the  lips  of  his  wife. 
The  greatest  enthusiasm  was  aroused.  A  subscription 
for  Simon  was  at  once  opened,  which  in  a  few  minutes 
reached  the  sum  of  six  thousand  dollars.  They  further 
determined  that  the  best  known  sculptor  was  to  make  a 
bust  of  Simon,  to  be  placed  in  the  building  of  the  ex- 
change. No  one  seemed  to  think  of  doing  any  business. 

A  committee  accompanied  the  merchant  to  Simon's 
bedside  and  communicated  these  things  to  him.  Simon 
was  greatly  surprised,  in  fact  he  was  so  overcome  that 
the  tears  streamed  from  his  eyes.  For  a  long  time  he 
was  unable  to  speak.  At  length  he  expressed  his  pro- 
foundest  thanks  to  the  gentlemen,  at  the  same  time 
however,  telling  them  that  he  was  rich  enough  for  his 
station.  He  asked  that  the  money  which  they  intended 
to  give  him  in  their  kindness,  which  he  highly  appre- 
ciated, be  used  for  some  charitable  purpose,  for  he 
could  not  accept  it.  They  urged  him,  but  it  was  of  no 
avail.  He  refused  firmly  to  accept  the  money,  because 
he  did  not  need  it.  He  begged  them  most  earnestly 
also  not  have  the  marble  bust  made.  Although  the 
wealthy  merchants  did  not  urge  him  any  further  to  ac- 
cept the  money,  yet  they  positively  declared  that  they 
would  carry  out  the  plan  of  having  a  marble  bust  of 
him  made,  and  placing  it  in  the  building  of  the  ex- 


95 

change.  This  was  a  small  proof  of  their  gratefulness 
and  he  could  not  refuse  them  this  gratification. 

While  this  delegation  of  distinguished  members  of 
the  exchange  were  still  assembled  about  Simon's  bed, 
a  servant  hastily  entered,  and  in  breatheless  excitement 
cried :  "The  emperor  and  empress !" 

Simon  was  really  frightened  at  the  news.  The 
merchants  arranged  themselves  along  the  walls  of  the 
apartment,  and  a  few  minutes  later  the  merchant  and  his 
wife  ushered  in  the  emperor  and  empress.  They  ap- 
proached the  bed  and  addressed  most  gracious  words 
of  thanks  and  highesUappreciation  to  the  negro,  whose 
eyes  filled  with  tears,  and  whose  quivering  lips  were  un- 
able to  speak  a  single  word.  Finally  the  emperor  said : 

"How  much  I  desire  to  reward  as  far  as  possible, 
such  Christian  nobility  of  soul,  I  wish  to  show  by  an 
outward  sign."  With  this  he  drew  forth  a  large,  golden 
medal,  attached  to  a  heavy  golden  chain,  and  hung  it 
around  Simon's  neck.  "Never  did  one  more  worthy 
wear  such  a  mark  of  honor!"  the  emperor  said.  "Wear 
it  upon  your  breast  as  a  mark  of  the  esteem  and  grate- 
fulness of  your  emperor/' 

"Long  live  the  emperor  and  empress !"  those 
present  enthusiastically  cried,  and  down  on  the  street 
the  thousands  took  up  the  cry. 

Under  tender  care  and  skilful  treatment,  Simon 
soon  recovered.  He  had  become  the  favorite  of  all 
classes.  Wherever  he  appeared  he  was  greeted  with 
every  mark  of  highest  regard. 

Upon  the  earnest  request  of  the  merchant  and 
many  friends,  Simon  at  last  made  up  his  mind  to  take 
up  his  permanent  residence  in  Rio  de  Janeiro.  He  was 
forty  years  old  in  1853,  and  as  was  his  custom  in  Santa 
Catharina,  he  spent  the  greater  part  of  his  fortune  in 
charity,  thereby  gaining  ever  greater  regard.  His  bust 
will  be  found  in  the  great  hall  of  the  exchange  building. 


96 

It  is  the  first  bust  of  a  negro  made  by  the  chisel  of  a 
sculptor,  to  which  such  a  place  of  honor  was  assigned. 
And  now  I  lay  aside  my  pen  with  the  assurance, 
that  I  have  faithfully  followed  my  source.  I  close  with 
the  words  used  by  the  speaker,  when  Simon's  bust  was 
unveiled :  "Not  the  color  of  his  skin,  not  the  place  of 
his  birth,  not  station  nor  descent,  can  raise  or  lower  a 
man  in  the  opinion  of  his  fellowmen !  It  is  the  heart, 
the  character,  which  gives  true  worth  to  a  man.  Long 
live  Simon,  the  negro!  Honor,  to  whom  honor  is  due!" 


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